ROBERT 

ERNEST  COWAN 

William   S.   Fletcher, 

The  Seaman's  .Missionary. 


AT  SEA  »HN  PORT 


LIFE  AND  EXPERIENCE 


WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER 


FOR    THIRTY   YEARS    SHAMAN'S    MISSIONARY 
IN   PORTLAND,   OREGON. 

Compiled   from   his  Journal   and  other  authentic  sources 

BY 
H.  K.   HINES,  D.  D. 


With  an  introductiou 


BISHOP  EARTy  CRANSTON. 


PRICE,    $1.OO. 


THE  J.  K.  GII.L  COMPANY, 

Portland,  Oregnu. 

1898. 


/'i-ess  of  Marsh  limiting  Company,  Portland. 


olo  mn  brctljren  of  tlje  Sea,  in  roljosc  labors  anb  eorroros  3  Ijauc 

anb   in  mljosB  tia^pincse    5  l)ace  rejoiccb 
from  imj  bonljoob,  tljie  rrcorb  ofuuj  life 
anb    cryeneuce    is   most 
afffctionatehj 


in  ttje  steabfast  tjope  tljat  it  nrill  prone  to   tljem  a  beacon  anb 
a  gnibe  to  tlje  ^Dort  of  QBnbless 


WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 
CHAPTER     I. 

Birth  and  Early  Life 11 

CHAPTER     II. 
The   Changed   Lifo,    22 

CHAPTER     111. 
To  a  New  Field 40 

CHAPTER     IV. 

The  Higher  Life,   57 

CHAPTER     V. 
Jnnitor  of  Taylor  Street  Church,   70 

CHAPTER     VI. 
Marriage,    84 

CHAPTER    VII. 

Crusaders 93 

CHAPTER     VIII. 
Work   Widening,    104 


Page. 

CHAPTER     IX. 
Broadening  Life n ' 

CHAPTER     X. 
Work  Among  Seamen 128 

CHAPTER     XL 
On  Ship  and  On  Shore I41 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Correspondence,    1  •>' 

CHAPTER    XIII. 
Won  for  God,   1<W 

CHAPTER     XIV. 
Ship  Work,    177 

CHAPTER     XV. 
Widening  Work 18S 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

Bethel  Work  Reviving,    19S 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

Sowing  and  Reaping,   209 

CHAPTER     XVIII. 
(Jrandma  Fletcher,    220 

CHAPTER    XIX. 
Coining  to  the  End,  .  .238 


INTRODUCTION. 
*  *  * 

T  will  be  well  for  those  who  propose  to  read 
this  unpretentious  volume  to  understand  at 
once  its  mission.  It  is  not  sent  forth  as  the  life- 
story  of  a  man  who  fancies  that  he  has  won  a  high 
place  amongst  men.  Nor  is  Br.  Fletcher  covetous 
of  literary  recognition  or  of  the  rewards  that  ordi- 
narily attend  successful  authorship.  He  is  only  a 
plain  Christian  man,  who,  in  what  he  has  to  com- 
municate, seeks  to  honor  his  Master  rather  than 
himself.  As  the  representative  of  the  Seaman's 
Friend  Society  in  this  city,  Mr.  Fletcher  has  been 
not  only  an  enthusiastic  witness  for  Christ  in  all 
assemblies,  but  a  tireless  missionary  among  the 
sailors  visiting  this  port.  I  am  sure  that  in  thus 
introducing  him  I  can  express  no  desire  more  in 
accord  with  his  own  design  and  purpose  than  that 
the  story  of  his  rescue  shall  be  to  many  a  sin- 


8  INTRODUCTORY. 

wrecked  sailor  a  life-line  thrown  by  the  hand  of  a 
saved  shipmate. 

Surely  other  lives  than  those  of  "great  men" 
should  "remind  us  (that)  we  may  make  our  lives 
sublime;  and,  departing,  leave  behind  us" — ay, 
something  better  than — "footprints  on  the  sands 
of  time."  After  all,  greatness  consists  first  in 
character.  It  is  Divine  possession,  only,  that 
makes  man  capable  of  deeds  worth  telling — deeds 
that  do  not  pale  in  the  presence  of  the  motive  that 
prompted  them.  We  have  heard  of  savages  who 
were  prodigies  in  cunning  and  courage,  but  mon- 
strosities as  men.  Beasts  of  prey  can  leave  foot- 
prints in  the  sand.  "Greatness,''  as  measured  in 
the  past,  often  stalked  with  bloody  trail  over  the 
rights  and  liberties  of  man.  But  we  have  learned, 
and  the  world  is  fast  learning  the  truer  type.  "The 
Light  that  lighteth  every  man"  has  not  been  shin- 
ing in  vain.  The  greatest  life  ever  lived  was  that 
of  Jesus  the  Christ.  From  pole  to  pole,  and  the 
earth  around,  He  is  crowned  the  Ideal  Man,  and 
the  Saviour  of  men.  Think  of  it  :  that  two 
should  be  one.  The  result  of  this  accepted  truth 
upon  the  world's  measurements  of  men  is  being 
wrought  out  slowly,  but  the  revolution  is  on  and 


INTRODUCTORY.  9 

will  prove  resistless.  Henceforth  the  true  man, 
the  brave  man,  the  perfect  man, — the  great  man, 
if  you  will, — is  to  be  the  friend  and  saviour  of  men ; 
not  an  oppressor,  not  a  plunderer  of  his  kind.  So 
let  it  be.  Good-bye  to  the  stars  that  rose  in  sel- 
fish ambition,  lust  and  carnage.  Welcome  the 
new  galaxy  with  Christ  as  its  central  sun,  and  this 
its  prophetic  legend: 

"THEY  THAT  TURN  MANY  TO  RIGHT- 
EOUSNESS SHALL  SHINE  AS  THE  STARS 
FOREVER  AND  EVER."— [Daniel  xii:  3.] 

No;  the  author  of  "At  Sea  and  in  Port,"  is  not 
seeking  reputation.  But  if  God  shall  bless  his 
witness  to  the  men  "who  go  down  to  the  sea  in 
ships,"  many  may  yet  come  from  all  nations  and 
call  him  great,  because  honored  of  his  Lord. 
Amen. 

EARL  CRANSTON. 

Portland,  Oregon,  March  20,  1898. 


PRELUDE. 


AS  Compiler  and  Editor  of  this  Memoir  of 
Mr.  William  S.  Fletcher,  it  is  suitable  that 
I  should  say  that  those  portions  of  this  book  ap- 
pearing as  my  own  are  the  result  of  an  intimate 
personal  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Fletcher  and  his 
work  that  has  continued  for  over  thirty  years.  They 
express  the  personal  estimate  that  so  long  and  so 
intimate  a  knowledge  of  the  man  and  his  work  has 
enabled  me  to  form  of  them.  Pure  and  incorrupt- 
ible, devout  and  consecrated,  firm,  yet  kind  and 
charitable,  his  life  has  been  a  beacon  to  voyagers 
over  the  ocean,  and  a  guide  to  toilers  on  the  land. 

H.  K.  HINES. 
Portland,  Oregon,  April,  1898. 


CHAPTER     I. 

BIRTH    AND    EARLY    LIFE. 

"I  am:    How  little  more  I  know! 
Whence  came  I?    Whither  do  I  go? 
A  centered  self,  which  feels  and  is; 
A  cry  between  the  silences; 
A  shadow  birth  of  clouds  at  strife 
With  sunshine  on  the  hills  of  life; 
A  shaft  from  Nature's  quiver  cast 
Into  the  Future  from  the  Past! 
Between  the  cradle  and  the  shroud. 
A  meteors'  flight  from  cloud  to  cloud." 

— Whittier. 

T  X  T  ILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER  was  the  old- 
^    *  est  child  of  William  Fletcher,  and  was 

born  in  the  parish  of  Kilmore,  near  the  town  of 
Neaugh.  County  Tipperary,  Ireland,  on  the  29th 
day  of  May,  1829.  His  parents  were  members 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  the  boy 
was  brought  up  in  its  faith.  When  he  was 
seven  years  of  age  his  father  died,  and  soon  after 
his  mother  married  again.  The  next  seven  years 


12  WILLIAM   S.  FLETCHER. 

he  spent  at  home,  but  at  fourteen  he  left  his  home, 
or,  as  he  says,  "ran  away  from  home,"  and  soon 
reached  the  port  of  Limerick,  Avith  the  intention  of 
going  to  sea.  He  had  but  a  few  pennies  in  his 
pocket,  but,  as  he  had  come  with  the  intention  of 
going  to  sea,  he  soon  found  his  way  to  the  deck 
of  a  ship  and  asked  the  captain  if  he  would  take 
him  "and  make  a  sailor  of  him."  The  captain 
took  him  and  William  remained  with  him  for  more 
than  two  years  in  the  Quebec  trade.  He  finally 
left  this  ship  in  Quebec  and  worked  his  way  to 
New  York,  and  after  spending  a  couple  of  weeks 
in  that  great  city  shipped  on  one  of  the  "Black 
Ball"  line  for  Liverpool.  On  the  return  of  the 
vessel  to  New  York  it  brought  over  six  hundred 
emigrants. 

For  some  years  there  was  nothing  in  the  life  of 
this  young  man  unlike  that  which  enters  into  the 
life  of  any  young  seaman.  He  made  a  number  of 
voyages  out  of  New  York  to  various  European 
ports,  and  also  to  South  America.  In  one  of  his 
European  voyages  he  brought  out  a  younger 
brother  with  him  and  apprenticed  him  to  the  sail- 
maker's  trade  in  a  large  Sail  and  Rigging  Loft  in 
South  Street,  in  New  York.  On  another  voyage 


BIRTH  AND  EARLY  LIFE.  13 

to  Dublin  he  brought  his  sister  with  him  on  his  re- 
turn. He  had  found  an  aunt  in  his  ramblings 
about  the  city  of  New  York,  on  another  occasion, 
and  he  left  his  sister  with  her,  and  himself  entered 
a  sailor  boarding  house  kept  by  one  Sam.  Smith, 
on  Oliver  Street.  Here  he  was  the  subject  of  one 
of  those  inhuman  practices  which  disgrace  this 
class  of  business  in  nearly  all  ports.  Desiring  to 
"have  a  little  run  ashore"  before  he  went  to  sea 
again,  he  paid  his  landlord  for  two  weeks  board 
in  advance.  In  about  four  days  the  landlord  came 
to  him  and  said:  "Bill,  I  want  you  to  go  in  a 
little  down-east  bark  to  New  Orleans,  and  then  up 
the  Mediterranean.''  Bill  declined,  as  he  had  been 
ashore  so  short  a  time,  and  had  paid  for  his  board 
in  advance,  and  he  did  not  wish  to  go  to  sea  so 
soon  again.  Little  did  Mr.  Smith  care  for  that. 
He  sent  one  of  his  "runners"  to  entice  Bill  down 
to  one  of  the  "chain  lockers,"  and  there  he  was  per- 
suaded to  take  a  couple  of  "drinks,"  which  stupe- 
fied him,  and  when  he  came  to  he  found  himself 
in  a  "Whitehall"  boat,  with  his  "dunnage,"  and 
shipped  on  the  bark  bound  for  New  Orleans  un- 
der another  name  than  his  own.  One  of  the  men 
engaged  by  Smith  to  the  captain  of  the  bark  had 


14  WILLIAM   S.   FLETCHER. 

decided  not  to  go,  and  this  method  was  taken  to 
supply  his  place  with  Mr.  Fletcher.  However,  he 
left  the  bark  in  New  Orleans  and  shipped  on  board 
a  large  Philadelphia  ship  for  Liverpool.  After  the 
cargo  of  this  ship  was  discharged,  six  hundred 
emigrants  were  taken  aboard  for  Philadelphia.  In 
running  down  the  channel,  when  off  Holyhead, 
and  before  all  the  emigrants  had  gone  below,  a 
fearful  squall  struck  the  ship  and  away  went  the 
three  topmasts,  the  jib-boom  and  all  the  "top- 
hamper"  of  the  vessel  with  them  over  the  side. 
When  the  wreckage  was  cleared  away,  about  day- 
light, one  of  the  Belfast  steamers  picked  up  the 
ship  and  towed  her  to  that  port.  Here  Mr. 
Fletcher  left  her,  returned  to  Liverpool  and  en- 
tered on  another  ship  bound  for  New  York. 

On  arriving  in  New  York  he  went  up  to  see  his 
old  "friend"  Smith,  who  was  "delighted"  to  see 
him,  and  desired  immediately  to  send  for  his  "dun- 
nage," which  was  yet  on  the  ship.  Mr.  Fletcher 
declined,  reminding  Smith  in  not  very  gentle 
words  of  the  "dirty  trick"  he  had  played  him  be- 
fore, and  took  up  his  quarters  at  "Jack  Barry's," 
at  42  Cherry  street.  But  a  like  experience  await- 
ed him  here,  for,  in  about  a  week  he  was  again  out- 


BIRTH  AND  EARLY   LIFE.  15 

ward  bound  for  San  Francisco  in  the  ship  Monu- 
ment, of  New  York.  The  ship  had  a  stormy  pas- 
sage, but  arrived  in  San  Francisco  about  the  last 
of  March,  1850. 

By  this  time  Mr.  Fletcher  was  becoming  wearied 
of  the  sea,  or,  if  not  of  the  sea  itself,  then  of  the 
character  of  the  life  that  comes  to  the  ordinary 
sailor.  And,  besides,  this  was  in  the  very  midst 
of  the  golden  flood  of  prosperity  that  was  rolling 
over  San  Francisco,  and  over  all  the  Pacific  coast, 
from  the  gold  mines  that  had  been  discovered  but 
about  two  years  before.  Wages  were  so  high 
and  work  so  abundant  that  he  determined  to  try 
what  he  could  do  on  shore.  Stopping  in  San 
Francisco  and  working  along  shore  for  some  time, 
the  enchanting  tales  of  sudden  and  fabulous 
wealth  to  be  dug  out  of  the  hills  and  gulches  of 
the  Sierra  Ne.vadas  drew  him  away  from  the  city, 
and  he  soon  found  himself  on  Feather  River,  and 
engaged  in  mining  on  a  bar  on  the  Middle  Fork 
of  that  stream,  in 'the  primitive  fashion  of  that 
primitive  period.  Himself  and  his  companion  gen- 
erally took  from  the  dirt  from  twenty  to  thirty 
dollars  per  day.  The  winter  was  spent  in  the 
southern  mines,  where  the  same  fortune  attended 


16  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

his  work.  Notwithstanding  money  was  so  rapid- 
ly and  easily  made,  it  was  just  as  rapidly  and  eas- 
ily spent.  Still  he  wrought  industriously  on  until 
the  fall  of  1853.  when  he  sold  out  his  interest  in 
the  mines  on  Feather  River,  went  down  to  San 
Francisco  and  shipped  for  Liverpool,  with  the  in- 
tention of  visiting  his  mother  in  Ireland  and  his  sis- 
ter in  New  York,  and  then  returning  to  California. 
But  though  he  visited  the  place  of  his  nativity, 
which  he  had  left  when  a  mere  boy,  he  found  that 
his  mother  had  removed  to  England  and  so  he  did 
not  see  her. 

By  this  time,  it  is  clearly  to  be  seen,  Mr.  Fletch- 
er had  come  to  some  enlarged  views  of  the  pur- 
poses and  ends  of  life.  He  had  seen  its  hard  sides 
and  dark  shadows.  He  had  visited  many  of  the 
great  ports  of  the  world.  Sea  and  land  were  famil- 
iar to  him.  His  body  was  hardened  by  toil,  his 
mind  expanded  by  trial,  and  to  a  good  degree  as- 
piration for  a  better  condition  of  life  was  awakened 
in  his  soul.  One  can  easily  trace  these  results 
in  the  record  he  made  of  the  events  and  experi- 
ences of  these  years.  Still  there  is  not,  up  to  this 
time,  a  single  intimation  of  any  religious  emotion 
or  sentiment  coming  into  his  heart  or  fashioning 


BIRTH  AND  EARLY  LIFE.  17 

his  purposes.  Still  there  was  love  in  his  heart; 
love  to  his  friends,  affection  for  mother  and  sister, 
and  an  evident  desire  to  minister  to  their  hap- 
piness. Where  there  is  any  susceptibility  for  love, 
there  is  yet  a  place  for  God  in  any  human  heart. 
This  has  evidently  been  a  growing  grace  in  the 
heart  of  Mr.  Fletcher  up  to  this  time. 

Not  finding  his  mother,  the  young  man  turned 
back  again  towards  his  sister,  who  was  still  resid- 
ing in  New  York.  He  had  got  beyond  the  hard 
need  of  working  his  way  before  the  mast,  and 
took  passage  on  the  steamship  "City  of  Glasgow," 
with  a  large  company  of  passengers.  This  was 
the  last  trip  of  that  ill-fated  vessel.  On  her  next 
voyage  she  sailed  out  of  her  port  with  a  large  pas- 
senger list,  disappeared  in  the  sky-rimmed  loneli- 
ness of  the  ocean,  and  was  never  heard  of  more. 

Remaining  with  his  sister  a  few  days  in  New 
York,  he  returned  to  California  and  its  golden 
treasures.  So  prospered  was  he  in  his  mining  op- 
erations that  in  the  fall  of  1854,  finding  that  he  had 
$2,000  for  his  summer's  work,  he  resolved  to  re- 
turn to  New  York  and  spend  the  winter  with  his 
sister  in  that  city.  But  life  even  in  a  great  city, 
lacked  the  excitement  and  impulse  of  life  in  the 


18  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

mines  and  mountains  of  California,  so,  in  the  spring 
of  1855,  taking  his  sister  with  him,  he  turned  his 
face  again  towards  the  west,  and,  after  a  short 
tarry  in  San  Francisco,  with  his  sister  he  went  into 
Klamath  County.  California,  and  again  began  min- 
ing at  Sawyer's  Bar,  on  Salmon  River. 

There  is  something  in  the  work  of  mining  for 
gold  that  holds  an  adventurous  and  enthusiastic 
spirit  with  an  entrancing  grip.  It  seems  monoton- 
ous to  a  looker  on,  but  not  so  to  the  worker.  The 
excitement  of  seeking  something  that  is  only  just 
out  of  sight,  and  that  something  gold;  and  the 
hope  that  the  next  blow  of  the  pick  or  the  next 
pitch  of  the  shovel  will  uncover  it  to  the  eager 
gaze,  keeps  the  nerves  strung  to  rapid  and  easy 
toil.  And  in  those  early  days  the  weirdness  and 
wildness  of  the  mountain  gorges,  the  rush  and  roar 
of  the  river,  the  song  and  shout  of  the  successful 
miners,  the  lights  of  the  campfires  that  set  aglow 
the  hillsides,  the  "yarns"  of  the  eager  circle  that 
drew  near  the  cheering  blaze,  the  stories  of  "finds" 
of  fabulous  wealth  in  some  distant  camp  that  seem- 
ed to  breath  themselves  over  plains  and  moun- 
tains and  through  forests  for  hundreds  of  miles  to 
every  miner's  cabin,  all  conspired  to  spread  over 


BIRTH  AND  EARLY  LIFE.  19 

such  a  life  a  charm  and  a  promise  that  were  un- 
known and  unfelt  in  city  or  on  farm.  It  was  a  new 
civilization,  if  it  was  civilization,  or  a  new  barbar- 
ism, if  it  were  a  barbarism.  If  it  were  either,  it 
had  many  of  the  elements  of  the  other  strongly 
blended  with  its  own,  and  so  constituted  a  new 
life,  rough  but  charming,  developing  a  character 
of  strong  vigor,  of  high  independence,  with  a  kind 
of  wild,  penetrating  intelligence  that  could  look 
farther  into  a  rock  for  a  seam  of  gold  than  any 
other  time  or  people  have  ever  evolved.  Out  of 
this  new  civilized-barbarism  have  developed  many 
of  the  strongest  and  most  practical  intellects  of 
our  national  history.  Out  of  it  have  come  many 
of  the  purest  and  most  chivalrous  Christian  lives 
that  have  blessed  humanity.  Amidst  it  have  been 
kindled  to  immortal  song  poetic  spirits  that  else 
had  dreamed  themselves  away  in  unsung  rhap- 
sodies amidst  the  monotonous  and  uninspiring 
bricks  and  walls  of  the  dreary  cities,  or  in  measur- 
ing calicos  and  woolseys  behind  the  counters  of  vil- 
lage traders.  There  is  a  relation  of  beauty  and 
poetry  between  true  souls  and  Sierra  heights  up 
there  in  the  skies,  and  murmuring  cascades  and 


30 


WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 


flowing  rivers  in  the  gorges  and  on  the  plains. 
Since  Bryant  sung  of 

"Where  rolls  the  Oregon. 
Ami  hears  no  sou  ml  save  his  own  diisuiugs." 

till  Miller  glorified  the  mountain  peaks  of  Cali- 
fornia with  the  "Song  of  the  Sierras,"  it  has  been 
thus. 

Mr.  Fletcher  remained  at  Sawyer's  Bar  as  a 
miner  until  the  fall  of  1858,  when  he  removed  a 
few  miles  to  a  place  known  as  ''Russian  Creek," 
where  he  secured  interests  in  mining  property  and 
applied  himself  with  his  usual  industry  to  the  hard 
toil  of  the  miner.  Nothing  of  special  note  oc- 
curred in  his  life  or  fortune  during  the  first  year 
that  he  spent  on  Russian  Creek.  He  had  a  home 
kept  by  his  sister,  whom  he  cherished  very  fondly 
and  faithfully,  and  the  months  of  daily  toil  in  the 
mines  during  the  summer  of  1859  were  pleas- 
ant. His  lot  seemed  fixed  for  life.  He  had 
drifted  off  the  ocean  and  drifted,  almost  with- 
out purpose,  into  the  mountains  of  Califor- 
nia. But  life  has  its  eras,  many  of  them 
seemingly  beyond  our  own  ordering,  but  it 
may  be  guided  by  a  wiser  and  more  powerful  hand 


BIRTH  AND  EARLY  LIFE.  21 

than    our    own.       So    it    may    prove    with    Mr. 
Fletcher. 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE    CHANGED    LIFE. 

"That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh;  and  that  which 
Is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit.  Marvel  not  that  I  said  unto 
thee,  ye  must  be  born  again."— Jesus. 

n^  HE  life  that  Mr.  Fletcher  had  lived  up  to 
^  the  fall  of  1859  was,  as  we  have  seen,  that 
of  a  seafarer  and  miner.  While  such  a  life  had  in 
it  much  that  would  prove  detrimental  and  even 
ruinous  to  a  man  of  weak  moral  nature,  to  one  of 
a  vigorous  sense  of  the  reality  of  life  there  was  in 
it  an  experience  that  could  be  made  very  effective 
and  useful  in  the  future.  A  wide  knowledge  of  the 
world,  and  a  wide  acquaintance  with  all  classes 
and  conditions  of  men,  gained  by  personal  contact 
with  them,  was  a  kind  of  education  that  compen- 
sated in  a  good  measure  for  the  lack  ofthe  educa- 
tion of  the  schools.  None  have  greater  opportu- 
nities for  acquiring  such  knowledge  than  the  sail- 
or and  the  miner.  They  see  men  at  their  best  and 


THE  CHANGED  LIFE.  23 

at  their  worst.  They  become  acquainted  with  the 
kindest  and  noblest  of  men,  and  with  the  hardest 
and  meanest.  They  meet  and  mingle  with  the 
most  truly  religious  and  the  most  shockingly  wick- 
ed. They  hear  prayers  and  profanity  in  the  same 
company.  Drunkenness  reels  and  staggers  before 
them  or  lies  down  and  wallows  in  the  mire  of  the 
gutter,  and  sobriety  walks  with  manly  uprightness 
and  clean  garb  at  the  same  time.  They  see  the  dif- 
ference; and  the  man  of  natural  moral  strength 
instinctively  comes  to  choose  the  better  for  his 
portion.  The  lesson  may  not  always  be  learned 
quickly,  but  it  is  quite  sure  to  be  finally  learned. 
It  may  not  always  be  learned  radically,  so  as  to 
lead  to  a  distinctively  religious  life,  but  it  will  often 
be  so;  and  when  it  is  it  makes  a  character  that 
becomes  a  worthy  model  of  life.  This  was  the  re- 
sult with  Mr.  Fletcher. 

He  had  now  reached  thirty  years  of  age.  His 
naturally  sincere  mind  had  been  prepared  in  many 
ways  for  the  planting  of  the  seed  of  truth  within 
it,  and  when  it  was  once  planted  it  could  rapidly 
spring  up  into  a  gracious  harvest.  The  instru- 
mentality that  finally  reached  this  result  was  sim- 
ple, yet  "mighty  through  God." 


24  WILLIAM.  S.  FLETCHER. 

In  the  autumn  of  1859  a  religious  friend  by  the 
name  of  Henry  Ferrett  made  a  visit  to  the  mining 
camp  of  Mr.  Clough  and  Fletcher,  and  spent  the 
evening  in  a  religious  conversation  with  Mr. 
Clough,  Mr.  Fletcher  being  a  simple  listener.  He 
had  never  read  the  Bible.  He  had  never  attended 
religious  meetings.  His  naturally  inquisitive  mind 
detected  at  once  that  Mr.  Ferrett  was  in  posses- 
sion of  something  to  which  he  was  a  stranger.  On 
retiring  for  the  night,  after  a  chapter  of  the  Word 
of  God  had  been  read  by  Mr.  Clough,  Mr.  Ewing 
made  an  earnest  prayer  that  God  would  apply  the 
truth  about  which  they  had  been  talking  to  the 
hearts  of  all  present.  Mr.  Fletcher  says: 

"It  was  the  first  time  I  had  knelt  in  prayer  for  many, 
many  years.  I  then  and  there  gave  my  heart  to  God,  and 
asked  Him  to  teach  me  how  to  pray  and  lead  me  in  the 
way  of  truth.  The  few  little  prayers  I  had  learned  when 
I  was  a  child,  out  of  our  Catholic  prayer  book,  I  believe, 
since  God  has  shown  me  the  way  of  truth,  were  not  in 
harmony  with  God's  word." 

To  the  truth  that  makes  "wise  unto  salvation" 
Mr.  Fletcher  was  an  utter  stranger  up  to  this  time. 
All  about  him  were  like  himself.  His  closest  asso- 
ciates were  irreligious.  His  own  sister,  his  broth- 
er-in-law, his  daily  companions,  all  alike  forgot 


THE  CHANGED  LIFE.  25 

God.  It  was  under  such  unfavorable  surround- 
ings that  then  and  there  Mr.  Fletcher's  mind  and 
heart  reached  the  high  resolve  to  surrender  to 
God.  The  way,  the  time,  the  completeness  of  his 
resolve  and  the  deliberate  earnestness  of  his  action 
under  it,  mark  the  inherent  independence  and  sin- 
cerity of  his  nature,  as  well  as  the  reality  of  his 
change  "from  darkness  to  light."  He  says  of  it: 

"I  did  not  experience  that  joy  and  ecstacy  which  some 
have  felt,  but  I  felt  an  abiding  witness  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
in  uiy  soul  that  He  had  pardoned  my  sins  and  accepted 
me  as  righteous  in  His  sight  for  the  sake  of  Christ." 

How  thoroughly  this  work  of  regeneration 
changed  the  course  and  purpose  as  well  as  the  mo- 
tive and  spirit  of  his  life  is  expressed  in  his  own 
record  of  the  event.  He  says: 

"I  then  commenced  to  strive  to  read  His  word,  for  I  had 
no  one  to  teach  me  but  God.  How  many  times  I  went  on 
my  knees  and  spread  my  Bible  before  the  Lord,  and  there 
spelt  out  the  word,  for  I  could  not  read.  But  the  Lord, 
who  is  more  willing  ^0  give  than  I  was  to  ask  Him,  gave  me 
that  light  by  which  I  was  enabled  to  read  His  word  in  a 
short  time,  and  also  how  to  write,  so  that  all  I  am  I  owe 
to  the  goodness  of  God  towards  me." 

One  can  hardly  imagine  less  favorable  condi- 
tions for  the  development  of  the  religious  and  in- 


26  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

tellectual  life  of  a  man  like  Mr.  Fletcher  than 
those  that  surrounded  him  at  this  time.  The  true- 
ness  and  decision  of  his  action  alienated  his  old 
friends,  and  they  "went  by  on  the  other  side." 
But  their  loss  was  his  gain.  God  did  not  forsake 
him,  but  raised  up  other  and  better  friends;  for 
He  never  leaves  himself  without  a  witness  to  those 
that  seek  Him.  Not  long  after  his  conversion  he 
was  minded  by  the  Divine  Spirit,  to  visit  the  fami- 
ly of  a  Mr.  Reany.  During  the  visit  Mrs.  Reany 
spoke  most  earnestly  about  seeking  the  Saviour, 
and  finding  his  heart  inclined  that  way,  encour- 
aged him  in  every  way  she  could.  Among  other 
helps  she  gave  him  two  of  the  books  that  have 
helped  mould  the  Christian  life  of  thousands, 
namely,  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress,  and  Dod- 
ridge's  Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion  in  the  Soul. 
These  were  the  first  religious  books  he  ever  read; 
and  these  were  read  when  he  was  only  able  to  read 
at  all  by  the  laborious  spelling  out  of  each  individ- 
ual word.  After  he  had  thus  read  them  once  he 
took  them  back  to  their  owner  with  the  acknowl- 
edgment that  he  could  not  understand  them.  She 
persuaded  him  to  take  them  back  and  read  them 
again;  and  herself  gave  him  some  instructions 


THE  CHANGED  LIFE.  27 

how  to  read  them  understandingly.  He  took 
them  again,  read  them  over  more  carefully,  earn- 
estly praying  to  God  to  enlighten  his  mind  so  that 
he  could  understand  them.  The  prayer  was  an- 
swered, and  he  was  greatly  blessed  then,  and 
through  all  his  life,  by  this  ministry  of  these  two 
eminent  and  devoted  men,  long  after  they  had 
gone  to  Heaven. 

Mrs.  Reany  so  illustrates  a  phase  of  the  frag- 
mentary religious  life  found  in  mining  regions,  and 
on  the  frontiers,  that  we  should  not  pass  by  this 
incident  without  a  brief  notice  of  it.  Mr.  Fletch- 
er speaks  of  her  most  tenderly  and  gratefully.  Her 
interest  in  him  religiously  led  to  inquiry  concern- 
ing her,  when  he  found  "she  was  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Saywyer's  Bar; 
a  good,  pious  woman,  one  who  was  always  striving 
to  lead  sinners  into  the  light  and  liberty  of  the  chil- 
dren of  God.''  This  good  woman  evidently  be- 
came "the  guide,  philosopher  and  friend"  of  Mr. 
Fletcher  in  his  earliest  Christian  life,  and,  without 
a  doubt,  her  influence  and  teaching  did  much  to 
fashion  that  life  that  ripened  into  such  a  beautiful 
fruitage  in  later  years.  His  own  brief  reference  to 


28  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

this  early  Christian  friendship  is  so  tender  and 
frank  that  we  here  transcribe  it.     He  says: 

"I  was  living  seven  miles  from  her  place  of  residence,  so 
I  had  not  many  opportunities  of  speaking  to  her.  When  I 
would  go  to  see  her  the  first  question  she  would  ask  me 
was  how  I  was  getting  along  spiritually.  She  won  my  con- 
fidence and  I  opened  my  mind  to  her  freely.  O,  how  the 
tears  ran  from  her  eyes  when  I  told  her  of  my  resolve  to 
serve  God  and  make  my  way  to  heaven.  She  then  invited 
me  to  join  her  little  class  and  become  a  member  of  her 
church.  I  told  her  when  I  came  down  again  I  would  let 
her  know  about  it.  In  the  meantime  I  was  striving  to  read 
my  Bible,  but  could  not  read  it  very  well  yet;  though  the 
Lord  was  giving  me  light  and  liberty  in  it. 

"The  next  time  I  went  to  Sawyer's  Bar  was  in  April. 
1860.  It  was  on  Sunday,  and  I  met  Mrs.  Reany  going  to 
hold  her  Bible  class  and  class  meeting.  I  asked  her  what 
that  meant.  She  told  me  if  I  would  go  with  her  I  would 
find  out  for  myself.  I  thank  God  I  did  find  out  one  thing.  I 
found  out  that  it  was  more  profitable  for  me  to  be  there 
than  to  spend  the  hours  in  the  saloon  or  bar-room.  When 
the  little  meeting  was  over  Mrs.  Reany  told  me  that  their 
Presiding  Elder  would  be  there  on  the  twelfth  of  May  to 
hold  their  quarterly  meeting,  and  asked  me  to  attend  it.  I 
told  her  that  I  would  be  down  and  hear  a  Methodist 
preacher  for  the  first  time  in  my  life.  I  spent  the  time  be- 
fore the  quarterly  meeting  reading  my  Bible  and  improving 
my  mind.  I  made  some  inquiries  about  the  doctrines  and 
discipline  of  the  Methodist  Church,  and  made  up  my  mind 
to  become  a  member  of  that  church  at  the  coming  quarter- 
ly meeting. 


THE  CHANGED  LIFE.  29 

"As  I  was  about  to  join  another  church  than  that  under 
which  I  was  brought  up,  I  put  myself  under  the  guidance 
of  God.  to  be  led  by  Him,  for  He  had  assured  me  in  His 
Word  if  I  would  acknowledge  Him  in  all  my  ways,  that  He 
would  direct  my  paths. 

"May  the  eleventh,  I  left  home  to  attend  the  quarterly 
meeting,  and  on  May  12th,  1860,  at  Sawyer's  Bar,  on  Sal- 
mon River,  Klamath  County,  California,  I  joined  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  on  probation,  under  kelson  Rea- 
soner,  presiding  elder  of  the  Mount  Shasta  District,  Cali- 
fornia Conference." 

Mr.  Fletcher  concludes  this  touching  account 
of  his  early  Christian  life  up  to  his  union  with  the 
visible  church  with  an  earnest  prayer  for  grace  and 
guidance  in  the  life  he  had  thus  and  there  under- 
taken, and  solemnly  records  his  vow  of  fidelity  as  a 
member  of  that  church  with  which  he  had  connect- 
ed himself.  How  he  kept  that  vow  will  appear  in 
the  entire  course  of  this  narrative. 

It  appears  a  strange  coincidence  that  the  Rev. 
Nelson  Reasoner,  under  whose  ministry  Mr. 
Fletcher  became  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  should  have  been  one  of  the  most 
intimate  of  the  early  ministerial  friends  of  the  writ- 
er of  these  memoirs,  when  we  were  both  in  our 
early  twenties  in  Western  New  York.  We  have 
not  met  for  nearly  fifty  years,  but  our  works  thus 


30  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

meet  in  the  actual  and  recorded  life  of  our  dear 
Brother  Fletcher,  thousands  of  miles  distant  from 
where  our  early  associations  were  formed. 

Thus  the  wandering,  wayward  life  of  William 
S.  Fletcher,  after  being  tossed  by  the  storms  of  all 
the  seas  so  long,  and  buffeted  and  beaten  by  so 
many  waves  and  adverse  tides,  came  to  safe  anch- 
orage at  last,  and  he  could  joyously  sing: 

My  soul  in  sad  exile  was  out  on  life's  sea, 

So  burdened  with  sin  and  distress, 
Till  I  heard  a  sweet  voice  saying  make  me  your  choice, 

And  I  entered  the  haven  of  rest. 

I've  anchored  my  soul  in  the  haven  of  rest, 

I'll  sail  the  wide  seas  no  more; 
The  tempest  may  sweep  o'er  the  wild  stormy  deep; 

In  Jesus  I'm  safe  evermore. 

Here  in  the  fastnesses  of  the  mountains  this 
rover  from  the  seas  found  this  safety;  and,  with  a 
little  band  of  eight,  who  there  represented  the 
great  Church  of  Christ  on  the  earth,  connected 
himself  as  a  Christian.  As  these  eight  names  had 
such  a  vital  relation  to  the  after  life  of  Mr.  Fletch- 
er, we  transcribe  them  from  his  journal:  Joseph 
Beasley,  leader;  Henry  Ferrett,  E.  Lee,  Joseph 
Smith,  Josiah  Gwin,  Mrs.  Reany,  Mrs.  Luckett 
and  W.  S.  Fletcher. 


THE  CHANGED  LIFE.  31 

It  will  be  interesting  and  profitable  to  trace  the 
early  Christian  life  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  while  he  re- 
mained in  this  locality,  a  little  farther.  His  helpers 
were  very  few  in  number,  though  these  few  were 
men  and  women  of  good  sense  and  solid  character. 
They  had  no  pastor,  and  only  once  in  three  months 
were  favored  with  a  visit  from  the  Presiding  Elder 
of  whom  we  have  spoken.  But  the  means  of 
grace,  like  class  meetings,  Bible  class,  prayer  meet- 
ing, were  not  neglected.  Mr.  Fletcher  lost  no  op- 
portunity for  improvement  in  knowledge,  as  well 
as  in  piety.  Immediately  on  his  conversion  an  im- 
pulse to  do  good  to  others  became  the  controlling 
force  of  his  mind.  Small  as  was  the  light  kindled 
in  his  heart,  and  few  as  there  were  among  the 
rough  miners  of  the  mountains  to  profit  by  it,  it 
was  never  hid  under  a  bushel.  There  is  a  charm- 
ing simplicity  and  honesty  in  the  words  in  which 
he  himself  wrote  of  his  first  participation  in  pub- 
lic religious  services.  It  was  not  long  after  he  had 
connected  himself  with  the  church.  He  says: 

"Our  class  leader  gave  out  an  appointment  for  a  prayer 
meeting  in  connection  with  our  class  meeting.  As  it  was 
the  first  prayer  meeting  that  I  had  ever  attended,  and  the 
first  that  had  ever  been  held  in  our  class  since  I  united 


32  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

with  it.  I  did  not  know  how  I  should  get  through  with  it. 
I  had  never  prayed  in  public,  and  was  greatly  troubled 
during  the  week  to  know  how  I  should  .act.  1  wrote  a  little 
prayer  for  the  coming  meeting  and  committed  it  to  mem- 
ory. It  was  well  fixed  in  my  mind,  as  I  hardly  thought  of 
anything  else  during  the  week.  When  Sabbath  evening 
came  and  our  meeting  time  drew  near  I  was  very  much 
embarrassed  about  my  little  prayer.  Although  I  could 
repeat  it  readily,  I  felt  that  I  had  not  confidence  in  myself. 
As  our  meeting  progressed  I  scarcely  knew  what  was  going 
on,  as  my  mind  was  so  taken  up  with  my  little  prayer. 
The  class  leader  called  on  me  to  pray.  As  I  was  in  the 
act  of  kneeling  my  little  prayer  vanished  from  my  mind. 
As  quick  as  thought  it  came  into  my  mind  to  ask  God  to 
be  my  present  help  in  time  of  need.  Blessed  be  God!  I 
prayed  in  a  way  I  had  never  prayed  before.  I  had  an 
access  to  the  throne  of  grace  I  had  never  had  before.  This 
is  the  second  time  the  Lord  has  taught  me  not  to  put  too 
much  confidence  in  my  own  strength,  and  I  have  profited, 
I  trust,  by  my  own  experiences,  to  trust  more  in  God  and 
less  in  myself." 

Thus  early,  while  he  was  yet  only  a  probationer 
in  the  church,  this  uneducated  young  miner  began 
to  evince  that  sturdy  honesty  of  purpose  and 
whole-hearted  consecration  to  God  which  marked, 
as  the  reader  will  see,  all  his  career,  and  made  his 
life  so  widely  useful  to  lost  men. 

The  long  mountain  winters  come  early  in  these 
rugged  ranges  where  the  miner  seeks  for  gold.. 


THE  CHANGED  LIFE.  33 

Hence  the  last  visit  of  the  Presiding  Elder  to  Saw- 
yer's Bar  for  1860  came  in  October.  Mr.  Fletcher 
notes  the  date — October  26th — as  the  time  he  first 
partook  of  'The  Supper  of  the  Lord."  He  speaks 
of  it  most  devoutly  and  prays  "may  God  cleanse 
me  from  sin  and  make  me  a  partaker  of  His  divine 
nature."  Incidentally,  in  the  same  entry  in  his 
journal  in  which  he  records  this  incident,  he  re- 
fers to  another  fact  that  shows  his  intense  thirst 
for  knowledge  as  well  as  religious  experience.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  before  his  conversion  to 
God,  only  six  months  before  this  time,  he  could 
neither  read  nor  write.  During  this  fall  he  pur- 
chased Clarke's  Commentaries,  six  very  large  vol- 
umes, one  of  the  most  learned  works  that  the 
world  had  ever  seen  when  they  were  published, 
paying  for  them  $22.00.  During  all  that  long  win- 
ter he  "improved  every  opportunity  in  reading 
them."  In  reviewing  this  time  he  says: 

"I  hope  the  light  I  have  received  from  these  hooks  will 
never  be  blotted  out  of  my  memory.  I  now  begin  to  feel 
the  want  of  education.  All  that  I  know  God  has  taught 
me  since  I  gave  Him  my  heart.  He  has  enabled  me  to 
read  and  write,  and  above  all  He  has  taught  me  how  to 
live;  and  I  have  a  reasonable  hope  that  when  my  proba- 


34  WILLIAM   S.  FLETCHER. 

tionary  life  is  over  He  will  receive  me  to  His  everlasting 
Kingdom  to  praise  Him  forever  in  Heaven." 

On  May  12,  1861,  Mr.  Fletcher  was  admitted 
to  "full  connection"  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  by  Rev.  Nelson  Reasoner,  who  had  admit- 
ted him  upon  probation  exactly  one  year  before. 
His  own  reflections  on  this  occasion  open  the 
door  of  his  heart  as  nothing  we  could  write  would, 
and  will  give  the  reader  a  clear  insight  into  the 
true  philosophy  of  his  life.  He  writes: 

"In  looking  over  this  the  first  year  of  my  Christian  ex- 
perience, my  heart  feels  humbly  thankful  to  God  for  His 
merciful  care  over  me.  When  I  look  back  and  see  what  I 
was  before  I  gave  God  my  heart,  and  then  see  what  I  am 
now,  surely  my  soul  is  grateful  to  God  for  taking  'my  feet 
out  of  the  miry  clay  and  establishing  my  goings  and 
putting  a  new  song  in  my  mouth,  even  praises  to  my  God.' 
He  has  caused  the  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness,  and  He 
hath  shined  in  my  heart  to  give  me  the  light  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ.  My 
prayer  to  God  is  that  I  may  be  perfected  in  love  and  filled 
with  all  the  fullness  of  God." 

At  this  time  the  Presiding  Elder  introduced  Mr. 
Fletcher  to  a  new  and  wider  field  of  Christian  in- 
fluence. He  organized  a  Sabbath  School,  and 
though  Mr.  Fletcher  had  never  been  in  one  in  his 
life,  appointed  him  a  teacher.  It  was  not  Mr. 


THE  CHANGED  LIFE.  35 

Fletcher's  way  to  decline  opportunities  for  doing- 
good,  and  so  he  readily  entered  this  open  door, 
and  took  charge  of  a  most  interesting  class  of  girls. 
There  was  an  excellent  library  of  books  in  connec- 
tion with  the  school,  and  these  Mr.  Fletcher  him- 
self read  with  his  usual  care  and  attention.  Use- 
ful as  he  was  to  his  class,  his  work  in  the  school 
was  scarcely  less  useful  to  himself.  He  learned 
the  blessedness  of  doing  good  as  he  had  never 
learned  it  before.  Giving,  he  received.  Strength- 
ening others,  he  was  strengthened.  Leading 
others  in  the  right  way,  he  was  led  in  it  himself. 
He  was  never  slow  to  learn  this  lesson,  and  the  ef- 
fect of  it,  as  we  shall  see,  remained  with  him  ever 
after.  Fortified  by  his  year's  advancing  experi- 
ence in  the  things  of  God  and  in  the  work  of  God, 
he  came  into  the  early  summer  of  1862  only  to 
meet  more  trying  difficulties  than  any  that  he  had 
hitherto  encountered. 

It  was  characteristic  of  Mr.  Fletcher  that  he  had 
a  "fixed  heart."  He  was  never  unstable.  If  ever 
a  man  could  adopt  the  words  of  the  Psalmist  with- 
out reserve,  "O  God,  my  heart  is  fixed,"  that  man 
was  W.  S.  Fletcher.  It  was  the  element  that 
made  him.  One  feels  a  holy  pride  of  humanity 


36  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

itself  when  he  studies  such  a  Christian,  however 
humble  his  accidental  sphere  in  life.  It  is  the 
heart  of  all  true  greatness.  It  is  the  sure  prophet 
of  victory,  whether  on  the  highways  or  in  the  by- 
ways of  life. 

The  trials  that  came  to  Mr.  Fletcher  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1862  were  in  no  wise  of  a  personal  nature, 
but  related  solely  to  the  condition  of  the  work  of 
God  in  the  small  community  in  which  he  took  so 
deep  an  interest.     The  Sabbath  school  in  which 
he  was  a  teacher  began  to  decline.     Superinten- 
dent, teachers  and  even  the  pastor  forsook  it,  un- 
til Mr.   Fletcher  and  his  class  were  all   that  re- 
mained.   Faithful  among  the  faithless  and  discour- 
aged, he  sought  the  advice  and  encouragement  of 
the  pastor,   but   he  met   discouragement    rather. 
He  declared  his  purpose  to  continue  it  unless  his 
own  class  deserted  him.     The  pastor  advised  him 
to  "dry  it  up.''     Mr.  Fletcher  appointed  a  meeting 
for  the  afternoon  of  Sunday.       Every  member  of 
his  class,  seventeen  in  all,  was  present.     He  di- 
vided the  class;     gave  one  to  each  of  two  girls 
fourteen  years  of  age,  taking  the  superintendency 
himself.       This    prompt   and    faithful    action    on 
the  part  of  Mr.  Fletcher  saved  the  Sunday  school, 


THE  CHANGED   LIFE.  37 

and  continued  this  instrumentality  of  grace  among 
these  scattered  and  needy  children  of  the  moun- 
tains. It  was  characteristic  of  the  man;  such  a 
spirit  as  has  marked  the  work  of  his  whole  life. 
He  records  this  as  the  most  trying  week  of  his 
experience  up  to  this  time,  but  it  brought  him  its 
usual  compensating  lesson,  namely,  "not  to  trust 
too  much  in  others  if  I  want  to  make  progress  in 
holiness  of  heart  and  life." 

Thus  amidst  the  solitudes  of  this  mining  gulch, 
the  work  of  God  was  carried  on  and  the  standard 
of  the  cross  upheld,  and  mainly  by  the  instrumen- 
tality of  this  one  man;  not  yet  two  years  rescued 
from  the  bondage  of  sin;  and  now  only  just  start- 
ed on  that  career  of  usefulness  which  has  given 
him  such  a  warm  place  in  the  hearts  of  thousands 
on  the  sea  and  on  the  land.  An  incident  will 
show  the  gentle  yet  decided  force  with  which 
he  asserted  his  Christian  principles  and  vindicated 
his  Christian  liberty  among  his  mining  compan- 
ions in  these  proverbially  ungodly  associations. 

In  one  of  his  mining  ventures  on  "White's 
Gulch"  he  accepted  a  partner  who  was  a  very  pro- 
fane man.  Mr.  Fletcher  reasoned  with  him  about 
the  folly  and  wickedness  of  his  course,  and  then 


38  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

told  him  that  he  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
church  and  had  made  his  house  a  house  of  prayer; 
and  if  he  came  to  live  with  him  he  would  have  to 
conform  to  the  rules  of  his  home.  This  decisive 
course  was  effective.  The  man  came,  and  within 
a  few  weeks  became  himself  a  member  of  the 
church.  At  this  place  there  had  been  almost  liter- 
ally no  religious  influence  or  sentiment  until  Mr. 
Fletcher  came  into  the  church.  Others,  among 
whom  were  some  of  those  who  had  been  associated 
with  him  at  Sawyer's  Bar,  came  afterwards.  As 
winter  came  on  he  went  through  the  camp,  look- 
ing up  all  those  who  desired  to  live  a  Christian  life, 
called  them  together  at  his  "old  cabin,"  and 
though  there  were  but  few  of  them,  and  only  "five 
outsiders  who  used  to  attend  these  meetings,"  or- 
ganized and  kept  up  an  "old  fashioned  prayer 
meeting"  all  winter.  Some  were  converted;  among 
them  a  Frenchman,  a  Catholic,  by  the  name  of 
Nichols,  who  was  unable  to  speak  English,  and 
used  to  pray  and  speak  in  his  own  language,  while 
the  great  tears  rolled  down  his  face  and  best  be- 
spoke his  gratitude  to  God  for  deliverance  from 
the  double  bondage  of  sin  and  the  superstitions  of 
Catholicism. 


THE  CHANGED  LIFE.  3<J 

During  this  winter  strong  efforts  were  made  by 
the  Catholic  priest  to  break  up  the  Sabbath  school 
under  Mr.  Fletcher's  superintendence.  Some 
Catholic  children  attended  it,  and  were  becoming 
greatly  interested  in  it,  and  especially  in  the  read- 
ing of  the  Sunday  School  Advocate.  This  he  for- 
bade them  to  read,  and  denounced  all  who  read  it 
as  heretics.  Mr.  Fletcher,  in  his  usual  open  and 
frank  way  went  directly  to  the  parents  of  the  chil- 
dren and  inquired  if  they  objected  to  their  children 
attending,  the  school  and  reading  the  papers 
They  replied  that  they  did  not.  He  then  encour- 
aged them  to  come,  gave  them  the  papers,  and, 
unawed  and  unashamed,  went  straight  forward  in 
his  "work  of  faith  and  labor  of  love." 


CHAPTER    III. 

TO    A    NEW     FIELD. 

"It  Is  often  reserved  for  'every-day  people,'  as  we  are 
apt  to  call  them,  to  illustrate  one  of  the  facts  of  life— that 
a  crisis  produces  the  man  to  meet  it." — Gustav  Kobe. 

1WT  R.   FLETCHER'S   work  seemed   now   to 
**•    -*-      be    done   in    the   mountains    of    Califor- 
nia.    Providence    appeared    to    be    calling    him 
to  a  far  northern  field.       He  had  been  thrown 
upon    the    golden    coast,    a    waif    of    the    seas, 
almost    without    purpose,    and    wholly    without 
a  large  and  noble  aim  in  life.       He  appeared  to 
others,  and  probably  to  himself,  like  one  of  the 
vast  multitude  of  human  beings  who,  as  tramps 
of  the  land  and  rovers  of  the  ocean,  existed  only  to 
wander  in  aimless  disquietude  of  being,  wherever 
the  momentary  whim  or  the  chance  currents  of 
impulse  might  take  them,  and  then  to  die  out  on 
the  desert  sands,  or  deep  in  the  mountain  gorges, 
or  on  the  restless  tides  of  the  never  quiet  seas,  and 


TO    A    NEW    FIELD.  41 

be  buried  out  of  sight  and  thought  of  their  more 
favored,  or  more  highly  endowed  human  fellows. 
Three  decades  of  life  had  thus  gone,  more  than  one 
of  which  had  been  spent  in  California  at  a  time 
that  witnessed  the  utter  moral  and  intellectual 
wreck  of  more  men  in  proportion  to  the  pop- 
ulation of  the  State  than  ever  occurred  in  any 
other  land  in  the  same  length  of  time.  Who 
could  have  prophesied  that  this  uneducated  Irish 
boy  should  wring,  out  of  that  hard  lot,  the  ele- 
ments of  a  character  that  should  make  him  in  the 
next  thirty  years  such  an  honored  instrument  of 
good  to  so  many  people  as  he  became.  If  he  did 
not  dig  much  ^old  out  of  the  gulches  of  these 
California  mountains  he  did  dig  out  of  them  that 
which  was  better  than  gold.  All  this  turned  on  a 
single  fact,  namely,  that  he  was  wise  enough  to  re- 
spond to  the  call  of  God  to  His  love  and  service  at 
almost  the  first  time  that  call  ever  came  to  him; 
and  that  he  kept  himself  open  to  that  call  of  God, 
and  lived  "obedient  to  the  heavenly  vision"  that 
then,  as  we  have  shown,  rose  upon  his  soul. 

It  was  in  July,  1863,  that  Mr.  Fletcher  decided 
to  leave  California,  and  turn  his  face  towards  far 
Northern  Idaho.  He  felt  it  was  God's  will;  why,  he 


42  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

could  not  tell;  where  it  would  lead  him  he  did  not 
know.  Tender  and  touching  was  his  farewell  to 
his  little  Sunday  school  in  the  mountains.  Great 
their  regrets  in  bidding  him  farewell.  Among 
them  was  one,  especially,  of  whom  we  have  spoken 
before  as  his  "guide,  philosopher  and  friend,"  in 
the  beginning  of  his  Christian  life:  Mrs.  Reany. 
Probably  she  little  understood  the  far  reach  of  her 
good  work  in  leading  him  to  Christ;  but  still 
there  must  have  been  a  sensitive  chord  quivering 
in  her  heart  when  she  bade  him  good-bye.  Mr. 
Fletcher  records  his  gratitude  to  God  and  to  those 
with  whom  he  had  lived  and  labored  in  very  tender 
terms;  and  at  the  same  time  expresses  his  deep  re- 
gret that  he  "had  not  had  some  one  to  lead  him  to 
Jesus  in  the  days  of  his  youth." 

His  sister  and  her  husband  had  been  living  with 
or  near  him,  in  the  mines  for  some  years.  They 
were  not  only  unconverted,  but  had  been  violently 
opposed  to  the  religious  life  of  their  brother. 
With  a  fidelity  and  tenderness  that  was  wonderful, 
he  had  counseled  and  besought  them  to  give  their 
hearts  to  God.  He  had  been  to  his  sister  more 
than  brother;  father,  provider  and  friend,  but  she 
flung  his  counsel  to  the  mountain  winds  and 


TO  A  NEW   FIELD.  43 

turned  away  from  his  God  and  Saviour.  When  he 
was  to  leave  her  in  this  great  wild  of  loneliness  and 
sin  the  memory  of  his  kindness,  of  his  faithfulness, 
of  his  love,  overcame  her  stubborn  heart,  and  she 
promised  him  in  the  last  words  she  then  spoke  to 
him,  that  she  would  "give  her  heart  to  God  and 
join  our  church."  With  this  new  benediction  on 
his  soul  he  turned  away  and  went  out,  "not  know- 
ing whither  he  went." 

On  leaving  the  narrow  field  where  he  had  so 
faithfully  striven  to  do  all  that  came  to  him  in  the 
work  of  the  Master,  Mr.  Fletcher  joined  the  great 
movement  of  the  mining  population  of  the  Pacific 
coast  northward  towards  the  newly  opened  mining 
regions  of  Washington  and  Idaho  Territories.  In- 
dustrious, provident  and  frugal,  although  his  min- 
ing adventures  had  not  brought  him  great  wealth, 
they  had  not  left  him  in  that  abject  poverty  that 
has  been  the  result  with  such  multitudes  of  the 
men  who,  like  himself,  entered  upon  them  without 
the  education  and  moral  training  that  enabled 
them  to  cope  with  the  trained  rascality  of  the 
gamblers  and  saloon  keepers  who  laid  their  plans 
of  knavery  and  robbery  for  every  unwary  visitor. 
From  such  a  fate  he  was  rescued  by  his  religion, 


44  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHEE. 

without  which  the  name  of  W.  S.  Fletcher  would 
have  perished  with  the  unnumbered  multitudes 
that  went  down  unknown  and  unregretted  in  the 
gulches  of  California  and  in  the  mountains  of  Ida- 
ho. For  this  reason  alone,  when  he  left  California, 
he  left  amidst  the  benedictions  and  tears  and  pray- 
ers of  those  who  loved  him ;  those  whom  he  loved. 
If  he  did  not  carry  much  gold  with  him  on  his 
journey,  he  carried  golden  memories  far  better 
than  gold.  Yet  he  went  in  comfort,  and  his  jour- 
ney northward  became  the  means  of  shaping  the 
ultimate  field  of  his  true  life  work. 

The  incident  on  his  journey  to  the  north  which 
most  aided  him  in  that  which  was  always 
uppermost  in  his  mind — his  religious  life — was 
the  falling  providentially  into  the  company 
of  Bishop  E.  S.  Janes,  one  of  the  sweetest, 
most  beloved  and  useful  bishops  of  his  own 
church.  At  Yreka,  California,  where  he  spent 
the  first  Sabbath  after  he  left  his  old  home, 
the  Bishop  preached;  and  from  Yreka  to  Ore- 
gon was  his  traveling  companion  in  the  close 
fellowship  of  a  stage-coach.  Those  who  knew  the 
tenderness  and  simplicity  of  the  Bishop's  manner 
and  the  sweet  and  insinuating  method  of  his  con- 


TO  A   NEW    FIELD.  45 

versation  in  private,  will  understand  how  quickly 
and  completely  he  would  win  the  confidence  and 
trust  of  such  a  heart  as  Mr.  Fletcher's.  Nor  would 
the  eager,  sympathising  attention  of  the  latter  to 
everything  said  intended  or  adapted  to  benefit  a 
hearer,  fail  to  draw  forth  from  the  good  Bishop  all 
his  good  natured  efforts  to  benefit  the  listener. 
Like  all  really  great  and  good  men,  the  Bishop  was 
not  pretentious,  either  in  garb  or  manners,  but 
plain  and  direct;  always  affable,  always  kind. 
Probably  the  week  spent  in  this  journey  in  this 
coach  with  the  Bishop,  with  the  opportunity  it 
brought  Mr.  Fletcher,  of  observing  the  spirit  and 
listening  to  the  conversation  and  sharing  the  ad- 
vice of  this  truly  godly  man  and  most  able  Bishop, 
did  as  much  as  any  one  week  of  his  life  to  elevate 
and  ennoble  his  conception  of  true  manhood  and 
consecrated  piety.  And  when  the  same  bishop  vis- 
ited Oregon  again,  many  years  after,  Mr.  Fletch- 
er met  him  and  re-called  to  him  the  incident  of  this 
ride  together  through  the  mountains  of  Northern 
California  and  Southern  Oregon,  and  inquired  if 
he  "remembered  the  little  Irishman  who  was  his 
traveling  companion  on  the  journey."  "O  yes," 
replied  the  venerable  man,  "and  I  have  often  and 


40  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

always  thought  of  you  in  connection  with  that 
trip."  So  this  humble  young  miner  and  this  exalt- 
ed Bishop  of  the  church  were  a  mutual  ministry  of 
help  and  pleasure  by  the  way. 

From  Portland,  which  was  reached  August  7th. 
and  where  one  Sabbath  was  spent,  improved,  as 
was  usual  with  him,  in  attendance  on  all  the  serv- 
ices of  the  house  of  God,  Mr.  Fletcher  pursued  his 
journey  for  "Bannock  City,"  Idaho,  where  he  ar- 
rived on  the  31st  of  August,  1863. 

"Bannock  City,"  later  and  now  known  as  "Idaho 
City,"  was  one  of  the  richest  mining  camps  ever 
discovered  on  the  Pacific  slope.  It  is  located  in 
the  far  interior,  in  the  very  top  of  the  Salmon  River 
range  of  mountains,  about  thirty-five  miles  north 
of  the  present  "Boise  City,"  the  beautiful  Capital 
of  the  now  State  of  Idaho.  It  was  a  place  of  awful 
wickedness.  The  vagrants,  the  gamblers,  the 
thieves,  the  murderes  and  the  prostitutes,  who  had 
been  driven  away  from  the  older  mining  towns  of 
the  coast  on  account  of  their  crimes,  had  all  gath- 
ered in  these  Idaho  mountains,  where  they  organ- 
ized a  pandemonium  of  crime.  They  reigned  for  a 
long  time  supreme.  They  organized  society  in  the 
interest  of  crime,  and  for  the  protection  of  crim- 


TO   A    NEW   FIELP.  47 

inals.  They  elected  civil  officers  for  the  same  pur- 
pose. Sheriffs  were  bandits,  and  treasurers  were 
thieves.  Bannock  City  at  that  time  was  a  real  Acel- 
dama, "the  field  of  blood."  Never  before,  and  prob- 
ably never  since,  even  in  mining  camps,  was  there 
a  more  desperate  body  of  men  gathered  in  one 
place. 

Probably,  however,  in  the  very  worst  mining 
communities  of  the  coast  some  of  the  very  best 
men  are  found.  Indeed,  where  the  worst  of  the 
bad  prevail,  the  best  of  the  good  are  found,  for 
God  never  leaves  Himself  without  a  witness.  So  it 
was  in  this  place,  and  ultimately,  here  as  elsewhere, 
the  few  righteous  proved  themselves  more  than 
a  match  for  the  many  wicked,  and  gradually  re- 
stored society  to  the  conditions  of  civilization 
known  in  other  places.  The  writer  for  many  years 
subsequently  visited  "Idaho  City,''  officially  in  the 
work  of  his  ministry,  and  found  quietude  where 
there  had  been  storm;  peace  and  safety  where 
there  had  been  robbery  and  murder. 

In  the  work  of  rescuing  the  place  from  its  dark 
pall  of  wrong  and  sin  Mr.  Fletcher  was  the  pioneer. 
Those  who  have  followed  us  thus  far  in  the  inci- 
dents of  his  life  would  not  expect  he  would  enter 


48  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

even  such  a  place  as  this,  and  not  let  his  light  shine 
forth.  Almost  before  he  had  struck  his  miner's 
pick  into  the  gravel  he  makes  this  record: 

"The  week  after  I  came  here  I  started  out  to  hunt  up 
some  of  our  members,  for  I  knew  that  there  must  be  many 
of  them  here,  but  I  could  find  only  four  on  my  first  round. 
I  got  them  to  promise  that  they  would  meet  me  the  next 
Sabbath  evening  at  the  Colorado  House  for  a  class  and 
prayer  meeting.  They  came,  and  we  had  a  most  refresh- 
ing season.  As  far  as  I  can  find  out  this  was  the  first 
prayer  and  class  meeting  that  has  been  held  in  this  place." 

Undoubtedly  to  Mr.  Fletcher  belongs  the  hon- 
or of  thus  gathering  into  an  organization  the  first 
band  of  Christian  workers  in  those  Idaho  moun- 
tains. But  he  was  soon  followed  by  others,  and 
about  three  months  after  this  small  organization 
was  effected,  Rev.  C.  S.  Kingsley,  a  very  able  min- 
ister from  Portland,  Oregon,  reached  the  place, 
and  entered  at  once  on  the  work  of  organizing  a 
society  and  erecting  a  house  of  worship.  He  high- 
ly approved  the  work  done  by  Mr.  Fletcher,  and 
from  that  time  forward  they  earnestly  co-operated 
in  the  work  before  them.  By  May,  1864,  a  church 
was  completed  and  opened,  a  class  of  twelve  mem- 
bers organized,  and  a  Sunday  school  established, 
and  thus  the  institutions  of  Christianity  were  per- 


TO  A    NEW   FIELD.  49 

manently  erected  in  Idaho  City.     In  all  this  work 
Mr.  Fletcher  was  a  chief  instrument. 

There  was  little  of  special  incident  attending 
the  work  in  which  Mr.  Fletcher  was  engaged  in 
Idaho  during  the  remainder  of  the  time  of  his  resi- 
dence there;  which  was  until  late  in  September, 
1864.  He  did,  what  is  the  most  difficult  of  all 
things  for  a  Christian  to  do.  "always  abounded  in 
the  work  of  the  Lord."  In  his  mining  claim,  where 
he  toiled  from  day  to  day,  in  the  prayer  and  class 
meetings,  at  which  he  was  always  present,  on  the 
highway  where  he  walked  with  the  multitude,  in 
the  places  of  trade,  everywhere  and  always  he  was 
the  gentle,  kindly  man;  the  devoted,  self-denying 
Christian.  Trials  were  borne  with  resignation;  la- 
bors performed  with  intelligent  trust;  and  his 
open  hand  ever  had  its  gift  of  charity  for  the  needy, 
or  his  contribution  to  help  forward  the  work  of 
God.  When  the  time  came  that  he  felt  God's  call 
to  him  was  elsewhere,  he  sold  out  his  mining  claim, 
adjusted  all  his  temporal  affairs  with  conscientious 
faithfulness,  ready  to  go  where  God  had  work  for 
him  to  do  most  to  glorify  Himself.  Under  date  of 
September  2nd  he  makes  this  entry: 

"As  this  is  the  last  time  I  intend  to  be  with  the  children 


r,0  WILLIAM   S.   FLETCHER. 

in  the  Sabbath  school,  I  spoke  to  them  about  loving  their 
Saviour,  especially  to  my  own  class.  May  the  good  seed 
that  has  boon  sown  bring  forth  abundant  fruit  in  their 
young  hearts  to  the  glory  of  God.  I  feel  greatly  thankful 
to  God  for  His  assisting  grace  which  has  enabled  me  to 
prove  faithful  to  my  calling  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  during 
my  sojourn  in  this  wicked  place.  I  can  say  from  an  honest 
heart  that  I  have  grown  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  since  I  came  here,  and  as  I  in- 
tend leaving  this  place  to-morrow  for  Portland  and  San 
Francisco,  and  if  it  is  the  Lord's  will,  for  Ireland,  I  de- 
sire above  all  things  to  acknowledge  God  in  all  my  ways, 
thnt.  he  may  direct  my  paths." 

These  reflections  and  this  prayer  are  in  harmony 
with  all  he  did  and  all  he  felt  from  the  moment  of 
his  conversion.  He  kept  God  in  all  his  thoughts, 
and  God  kept  and  cared  for  him  in  all  his  ways. 

His  journey  to  Portland  and  thence  to  San  Fran- 
cisco via  Victoria,  was  without  noteworthy  inci- 
dent. In  San  Francisco  he  immediately  connected 
himself  with  the  church  of  which  Jesse  T.  Peck, 
D.  D.,  afterwards  Bishop,  was  pastor.  Here  he 
had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  his  sister,  who  had 
promised  him  at  Sawyer's  Bar,  when  he  was  about 
to  leave  for  Idaho,  that  she  would  become  a  Chris- 
tian and  unite  herself  with  the  Methodist  Church, 
give  her  name  also  as  a  probationer  to  the  church. 


TO  A   NEW   FIELD.  51 

What  seemed  to  him  the  special  work  God  would 
now  have  for  him  to  do  was  to  care  for  the  relig- 
ious and  intellectual  improvement  of  that  beloved 
sister.  He  proved  his  real  manhood  by  the  care 
he  took  of  her.  He  met  her  on  his  arrival  in  San 
Francisco,  surrounded  by  influences  greatly  ad- 
verse to  her  spiritual  and  intellectual  well  being, 
but  he  immediately  put  her  into  the  Santa  Clara 
Female  Collegiate  Institute,  under  the  family  care 
of  Rev.  Mr.  Tuthill  and  lady,  where  all  her  in- 
terests were  tenderly  and  faithfully  cared  for;  him- 
self paying  all  bills  for  tuition  and  board.  This,  he 
felt,  was  his  special  call  to  California.  Though  he 
came  to  San  Francisco  with  his  mind  fully  dis- 
posed to  ship  for  Ireland,  yet  he  found  that  the 
providence  of  God  had  closed  that  way  to  him, 
and,  as  ever,  he  said  "Thy  will  be  done."  When 
all  his  arrangements  for  his  sister's  welfare  were 
made  and  he  was  about  to  leave  her  again,  he  says 
in  his  journal: 

"The  few  days  I  have  spent  with  her  have  been  a  bright 
spot  in  my  life.  I  have  been  enabled  by  the  grace  of  God 
to  sacrifice  my  own  pleasure  in  giving  up  the  idea  of  going 
to  Ireland  to  spend  the  winter,  in  order  that  I  might  make 
my  sister  more  comfortable  and  happy.  Our  parting  this 
time  has  been  most  affectionate.  Her  heart  seems  to  be 


52  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

touched  by  the  power  of  God.  I  feel  very  lonely  in  leaving 
her,  not  snowing  where  I  shall  go;  but  I  am  determined  to 
go  wherever  the  Lord  shall  direct,  for  He  will  direct  me 
aright." 

He  returned  to  San  Francisco,  where  the  im- 
pression was  forcibly  made  upon  his  mind  that  he 
should  go  back  to  Portland,  Oregon.  To  him  it 
was  a  heavenly  vision,  and  immediately  he  was 
obedient  to  it,  and  on  the  29th  of  October,  1864, 
he  took  passage  on  the  steamer  for  that  place,  ar- 
riving there  on  the  first  day  of  November,  1864. 

Though  Mr.  Fletcher  had  now  reached  the  place 
where  was  to  be  wrought  the  great  work  of  his  life, 
he  was  not  yet  to  enter  upon  it.  All  his  previous 
experiences,  both  before  and  after  his  conversion, 
had  been  preparatory  to  it.  But  there  were  yet 
other  preparations  to  which  God  was  bringing 
him  as  he  was  made  able  to  bear  them.  The  care- 
less reader  might  suppose,  as  he  has  followed  him 
in  his  rovings  on  the  sea  and  his  journeyings  on  the 
land;  in  his  mingling  with  sailors  on  the  decks  of 
vessels  and  in  the  many  ports  to  which  he  sailed; 
as  he  dug  in  the  mines  of  California  and  Idaho, 
that  he  was  but  one  of  the  floating  thousands 
whose  employments  were  like  his,  who  were  ever 


TO  A   NEW   FIELD.  53 

saying-,  "Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we 
die;"  mere  floating  fragments  of  humanity,  not 
thinking  what  they  were  nor  whither  they  were 
drifting.  Now  in  Ireland,  now  in  England,  now  in 
America;  one  month  in  Gal  way,  the  next  in  Liv- 
erpool, the  next  in  New  York,  the  next  in  San 
Francisco;  what  was  there  in  that  to  prepare  an 
uneducated  man  for  any  great  mission  of  after  life, 
or  to  qualify  him  to  reach  and  influence  other  lives 
on  a  broad  and  efficient  scale?  God  knew,  and 
"God  disposes;"  and  He  made  all  these  things 
work  together  for  the  good  both  of  Mr.  Fletcher 
himself  and  the  world  through  him. 

On  his  arrival  in  Portland  in  the  begining  of  the 
winter  of  1864-5,  he  immediately  connected  himself 
with  Taylor  Street  Church,  then  under  the  pas- 
torate of  Rev.  David  Rutledge,  and  entered  heart- 
ily into  its  work.  With  this  change  there  had 
come  to  him  the  thought  of  a  home,  so  he  pur- 
chased a  plat  of  ten  acres  of  land  of  Rev.  Albert 
Kelly,  in  whose  family  he  boarded,  and  with  his 
usual  industry  set  to  work  to  clear  and  improve 
it.  In  the  midst  of  his  manual  toil,  such  as  clear- 
ing and  grubbing  land  and  building  a  house,  he  be- 
gan the  reading  of  the  New  Testament  through 


-,4  WILLIAM   S.   FLETOIIF.IJ. 

by  course,  while  on  his  knees  looking  for  God's 
blessing  to  be  upon  the  word  to  sanctify  his  own 
soul.  He  also  organized  a  Sabbath  school  in  the 
neighborhood  where  his  home  was  located,  a  few 

c> 

miles  out  of  the  city,  and  with  a  faithfulness  that 
was  ever  one  of  his  most  prominent  characteris- 
tics, attended  all  the  services  of  the  church  and  did 
whatever  came  to  his  hands  as  a  Christian  in  the 
helping  forward  all  that  were  about  him.  "To  do 
good  and  to  communicate  forget  not;"  which 
Paul  enjoined  upon  the  early  Christians,  was  the 
very  spirit  of  Mr.  Fletcher's  life.  So  he  says: 

"I  can  now  see  why  the  Lord  brought  me  to  this  place. 
Here  are  a  few  followers  of  His  without  any  one  to  look 
after  them,  with  no  class  or  prayer  meetings,  with  preach- 
ing only  once  in  four  weks  by  our  preacher  in  charge,  who, 
I  must  say,  takes  very  little  interest  in  us." 

This  religious  indifference  and  spiritual  desti- 
tution of  the  people  bore  heavily  on  his  heart,  and 
he  set  to  work  to  remedy  it  in  his  usual  sensible 
and  practical  way,  by  visiting  among  the  people 
religiously,  holding  prayer  meetings  and  class 
meetings  and  Sunday  schools,  and  soon  saw  that 
"his  labor  was  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord." 

One  cannot  but  wonder  when  he  sees  the  results 


TO   A   NEW   FIELD.  55 

of  the  work  of  this  unpretending  man  in  such  lines 
as  these,  why  it  should  have  remained  for  him  al- 
most alone  of  the  vast  multitudes  in  the  church 
everywhere  his  equals,  and  even  his  superiors  in 
general  talents  and  education  and  even  in  oppor- 
tunity, to  demonstrate  what  one  man  alone  can  do 
to  further  the  cause  of  truth  and  piety  among  men. 
But  so  it  seemed  to  be  in  the  places  where  his  lot 
was  cast;  but  his  faith  and  zeal  never  faltered  and 
God  never  ceased  to  honor  his  devotion.  For  two 
years  this  character  of  work  continued,  while  the 
experience  of  Mr.  Fletcher  seemed  like  an  ever 
widening  stream,  flowing  deeper  and  deeper,  and 
more  and  more  enriching  all  the  land.  His  care- 
ful and  prayerful  study  of  the  Bible  made  him  more 
and  more  able  to  guide  the  people  aright,  and  his 
expositions  of  Scripture  in  prayer  and  class  meet- 
ings and  in  occasional  exhortations  were  often 
accompanied  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Through  his  instrumentality  the  Lord  added  to 
the  church  many  that  were  saved,  but  beyond 
this,  and  probably  greater  than  this,  during  these 
years  of  1865  and  1866,  with  a  part  of  1867,  these 
labors  and  successes  were  a  great  help  in  the  prep- 
aration of  Mr.  Fletcher  himself  for  the  new  relig- 


56  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

ious  era  that  was  now  about  to  dawn  on  his  own 
soul.  He  had  learned  well  how  to  seize  opportun- 
ity, and  God  gives  the  grace  of  opportunity  to 
those  who  know  how  to  use  it. 


CHAPTER     IV. 

THE  HIGHER  LIFE. 

"Leaving  the  things  that  are  behind  and  reaching  forth 
to  those  things  that  are  before."— Paul. 

Take  my  soul  and  body's  powers; 
Take  my  memory,  mind  and  will; 
All  my  goods,  and  all  my  hours; 
All  I  know  and  all  I  feel; 
All  I  think,  or  speak,  or  do; 
Take  my  heart,  but  make  it  new. 

—Wesley 

A  S  at  the  beginning  of  his  Christian  life,  at 
-^-^  the  opening  of  what  may  be  called  its  first 
era  of  experience,  Mr.  Fletcher  deliberately,  and  in 
a  clear  business  way,  made  a  surrender  of  his  heart 
to  God,  so  when  the  years  had  taught  him  that 
there  was  a  deeper  experience  and  a  larger  life  for 
him  to  enjoy  and  express,  with  the  same  deliberate- 
ness  he  moved  forward  to  their  attainment.  This 
will  be  clearly  seen  from  the  following  from  his 
journal: 


58  WILLIAM   S.    FLETCHER. 

"Portland,  March  27,  18G7. 

"I  have  this  day  consecrated  myself  anew  to  Jesus.  I 
give  Him  all  my  sinful  heart,  rebellious  will,  my  time  and 
talents,  and  all  that  I  possess,  to  be  spent  in  His  service. 
And  now  my  blessed  Jesus,  I  know  that  Thou  wilt  accept 
it,  for  I  intend,  God  being  my  helper,  never  to  take  any  of 
it  back.  I  pray  that  I  may  be  sanctified  through  the  truth; 
for  Thy  Word  is  truth;  and  that  I  may  adorn  the  doctrine 
of  God  my  Saviour  In  all  things. 

WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER." 

The  entrance  of  this  record  of  his  new  and  entire 
consecration  to  the  service  and  work  of  his  Re- 
deemer is  of  such  signal  interest,  and  marks  so  de- 
cisively such  an  important  era  in  his  life,  that  it 
must  be  treated  separate  from  the  general  story 
of  that  life.  From  the  very  beginning  of  his  Chris- 
tian experience  he  had  been  remarkably  single 
hearted,  and  had  always  made  his  religion  fore- 
most in  the  purposes  of  his  life.  It  is  doubtful  if 
he  had  forgotten  to  do  this  for  a  single  moment, 
whether  he  was  on  the  street,  in  the  mines,  in  the 
church  or  at  home.  Still  he  had  come  to  feel  that 
there  was  a  higher  religious  experience  than  he 
had  enjoyed,  and  true  to  that  prevailing  purpose 
that  distinguished  him  to  reach  the  highest  of 
which  he  was  capable,  he  resolved  to  seek  it. 


THE  HIGHER  LIFE.  59 

Portland  at  this  time  was  greatly  stirred  relig- 
iously under  the  preaching  of  Rev.  A.  B.  Earle,  a 
noted  evangelist  who  was  spending  a  few  weeks 
in  special  revival  work  in  the  city.  Mr.  Fletcher's 
home  was  then  a  few  miles  out  of  the  city,  but  on 
Sabbath,  March  24th,  he  walked  in  to  hear  the 
evangelist,  whose  fame  had  filled  all  the  region 
round  about,  preach.  After  hearing  him,  he  de- 
termined to  let  his  "work  stop  for  a  few  days"  and 
devote  them  especially  to  the  services  of  Mr.  Earle. 
The  direct  result  to  himself  was  the  awakening  in 
his  heart  of  that  intense  desire  for  an  advanced  ex- 
perience and  a  complete  consecration  of  all  his 
powers  and  life  to  God. 

With  Mr.  Fletcher  this  was  no  spasmodic  move- 
ment impelled  by  an  excitement  that  might  last 
but  for  a  day,  but  the  logical  moral  result  of  all 
his  life  since  he  became  a  Christian.  Always 
"leaving  the  things  that  are  behind  he  was  reach- 
ing forward  towards  the  things  that  are  before," 
and  "pressing  towards  the  mark  for  the  prize  of 
the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus."  This 
was  a  moving  up  to  the  light  that  had  come  to 
him.  The  operations  of  his  mind  while  coming  up 
to  it  were  of  singular  intensity  and  interest.  We 


60  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

follow  them  for  a  little,  as  the  study  of  them  may 
help  other  inquiring  and  struggling  souls. 

In  connection  with  his  preaching,  Mr.  Earle 
had  put  into  the  hands  of  those  who  heard  him  a 
card  containing  a  list  of  ten  questions  relating  to 
the  personal  religious  life,  as  follows: 

SELF    EXAMINATION. 

FOR    OLDER     CHRISTIANS. 

1.  Do  I  search  my  heart  to  the  bottom,  and  act  out  its 
convictions? 

2.  Do  I  believe  I  control  my  tongue  and  my  temper? 

3.  Do  I  really  believe  the  Bible  is  the  law  of  my  heart 
and  life? 

4.  Do  I  convince  men  that  I  believe  there  is  an  eternal 
Hell? 

5.  Am  I  greatly  concerned  for  the  salvation  of  men? 

6.  Do  I  act  like  a  Christian  in  my  family  and  among  my 
intimate  friends? 

7.  Do  I  fully  believe  I  have  been  born  again? 

S.  Do  I  know  that  I  have  power  with  God  in  prayer? 

9.  Do  I  believe  I  have  been  baptised   with  the  Holy 
Spirit  since  my  conversion? 

10.  Am  I  sweetly  resting  in  Christ  by  faith  now? 

These   questions,    covering   the   very   heart    of 
Christian  experience  and  life,  could  not  but  deep- 


THE  HIGHER  LIFE.  61 

ly  impress  so  sincere  a  mind  as  Mr.  Fletcher's,  and 
he  quickly  and  fully  resolved  to  test  their  widest 
reach  of  experimental  and  practical  power. 

Still  he  did  not  reach  the  point  for  which  he 
aimed  without  a  struggle.  His  record  of  it  is 
plaintive  and  pathetic.  Such  words  as  "darkness," 
"no  liberty,"  "struggle,"  "Satan  using  every 
means  to  draw  me  away,"  are  the  common 
terms  by  which  he  describes  his  emotions  and  feel- 
ing for  some  days  after  he  had  written  the  conse- 
cration paper  at  the  head  of  this  chapter,  notwith- 
standing he  attended  the  services  of  Mr.  Earle  all 
the  time.  Finally  the  conflict  was  ended  in  this 
way.  He  had  attended  a  "meeting  for  holiness'' 
in  Taylor  Street  Church,  Portland,  without  any 
special  profit.  On  his  return  to  his  home  he  re- 
solved to  take  up  the  next  morning  the  ten  ques- 
tions proposed  by  Mr.  Earle,  and  seek  in  special 
prayer  the  grace  to  answer  them  in  the  affirma- 
tive. This  he  did,  most  carefully  and  earnestly, 
while  on  his  way  to  his  work,  a  mile  from  his 
house;  kneeling  by  the  wayside  in  the  woods,  and 
reading  them  over  on  his  knees,  he  accepted  them 
all  as  the  guide  and  test  of  his  future  Christian  life. 
Still  there  were  seasons  of  "restlessness,"  but 


62  WILLIAM   S.   FLETCIIEK. 

no  real  drawing  back  from  his  vows  and  faith  of 
consecration.  The  Scripture  that  led  his  mind  out 
at  last  into  the  ultimate  trust  was  First  John,  first 
chapter  and  seventh  verse:  "If  we  walk  in  the 
light  as  he  is  in  the  light  we  have  fellowship  one 
with  another,  and  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son 
clcanseth  us  from  all  sin."  Now  he  was  able  to 
say : — 

"Now  rest,  my  long  divided  heart, 
Fixed  on  this  blissful  center,  rest; 
Nor  ever  from  thy  Lord  depart  I—- 
With Him  of  every  good  possest." 

There  in  that  struggle,  alone  with  God  in  the 
woods,  he  says: 

"My  axe  which  I  held  in  my  hand  dropped  harmless  at 
my  side,  and  that  beautiful  hymn,— 

"There  is  a  Fountain  filled  with  blood. 

Drawn  from  Immanuel's  veins: 
And  sinners  plunged  beneath  that  flood. 

Lose  all  their  guilty  stains," 

spoke  my  faith.  O,  how  my  heart  responded  to  the 
words  of  my  mouth!  Blessed  be  God,  I  can  now  rejoice 
evermore,  pray  without  ceasing,  and  in  everything  give 
thanks.  'Faithful  is  He  that  calleth  me.  who  also  will  do 
it.' " 


THE  HIGHER  LIFE.  63 

Without  doubt  the  mental  and  spiritual  strug- 
gles of  the  last  few  days  marked  as  distinct  an  era 
in  the  life  of  Mr.  Fletcher  as  did  the  date  and 
struggles  of  his  first  espousals.  He  had  faithfully 
used  the  grace  first  given  and  God  entrusted  to 
him  the  larger  riches.  By  the  faithfulness  and 
growth  of  his  earlier  Christian  life  he  had  prepared 
himself  for  the  wider  opportunities  and  greater 
responsibilities  that  God  had  prepared  for  him  in 
his  later  life.  Thus  is  it  ever.  God  rewards  faith- 
fulness by  larger  trust,  and  compensates  labor  by 
giving  greater  opportunities  for  labor. 

But  this  victory  of  faith  and  this  advanced  ex- 
perience in  the  divine  life  did  not  lift  Mr.  Fletcher 
above  the  continued  and  faithful  discharge  of  the 
ordinary  every-day  duties  of  the  Christian  life.  On 
the  contrary  it  gave  a  greater  earnestness  and  a 
deeper  spirituality  to  that  work.  He  not  only 
gave  definite  testimony  to  "what  the  Lord  had 
done  for  his  soul,"  but  in  his  place  as  a  class  leader, 
and  in  all  his  relations  as  a  Christian  man  seeking 
to  help  God's  children  on  in  the  heavenly  way,  and 
to  lead  sinners  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  he 
walked  and  talked  with  greater  freedom  and  en- 
largement. He  not  only  attended  the  meetings 


64  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

of  his  own  class,  but  visited  nearly  all  the  classes 
for  many  miles  around,  confirming  and  strength- 
ening them  in  the  fellowship  of  the  faith  of  Jesus. 
He  made  these  visits  on  foot,  and  sometimes 
walked  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  in  a  day  on  these 
missions  of  love.  He  did  not  assume  to  do  this  as 
a  teacher,  but  as  a  "brother  beloved."  He  always 
walked  in  an  atmosphere  of  humility,  and  never 
more  so  than  after  he  had  experienced  the  blessing 
of  "perfect  love."  He  closes  up  the  year  1867  with 
many  expressions  of  praise  and  gratitude  to  God 
for  His  abounding  mercy  and  goodness  during  the 
year,  especially  in  his  "rich  experience  in  spiritual 
things.''  He  makes  this  grateful  record: — 

"On  the  seventh  day  of  last  May  the  Lord  sealed  rne  for 
His  own.  The  impression  that  was  then  made  on  my  poor 
heart  has  grown  stronger  and  brighter  to  the  present  mo- 
ment; and  now  I  can  say  from  that  experience  that  'the 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  me  from  all  sin.  O,  how 
humble  it  makes  the  soul  to  be  freed  from  all  the  carnal 
mind  and  to  be  filled  with  the  love  of  Jesus!" 

O  that  the  world  would  taste  and  see 

The  riches  of  His  grace; 
The  arms  of  love  that  compass  me 

Would  all  mankind  embrace." 

The  early  months  of  1868  were  marked  by  quite 


THE  HIGHER  LIFE.  65 

an  enlargement  of  the  scope  of  Mr.  Fletcher's 
work.  His  singular  influence  in  drawing  the  hearts 
of  those  with  whom  he  associated  towards  Christ, 
and  especially  in  leading  believers  into  the  higher 
experiences  of  the  Christian  life,  was  becoming 
widely  understood,  and  his  services  were  sought 
for  in  many  places.  In  his  own  class  he  was  be- 
loved as  a  brother,  and  he  lavished  his  own  love 
upon  them  all.  Within  a  circuit  of  twenty  miles 
from  his  home  his  kindly  Christian  influence  was 
strongly  felt.  Nor  was  that  influence  confined  to 
the  rustic  population  of  the  hills  and  valleys  amidst 
which  his  own  home  lay;  he  was  as  welcome  and 
as  beloved  in  the  classess  and  Sunday  schools  of 
the  city  as  he  was  there.  Not  unfrequently  he 
would  be  with  the  classes  in  Portland  in  the  morn- 
ing and  with  those  several  miles  distant  in  the  af- 
ternoon, edifying  believers,  counseling  unbeliev- 
ers, speaking  kindly  to  children,  and  by  pureness 
of  life  and  charity  of  word  "commending  himself 
to  every  man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God." 
A  record  or  two  from  his  dairy  will  indicate  the 
constant  character  of  his  work  at  this  time  of  his 
life.  On  May  10th,  1868.  he  says: 
"I  attended  the  morning  class  in  Portland,  then  heard 


66  WILLIAM   S.   FLETCHER. 

preaching,  and  then  led  the  noon  class,  Brother  Tatterson 
being  absent.  I  then  came  out  and  led  my  own  class.  1 
thank  God  for  all  the  privileges  I  have  enjoyed  this  Sab- 
bath. May  llth,  I  went  into  the  city  to  attend  the  Monday 
evening  class.  It  was  a  feast  to  my  soul.  This  is  the  most 
spiritual  class  I  have  attended.  I  love  to  hear  Governor 
Abernethy  lead  his  class,  he  is  so  spiritual.  It  is  no  wonder 
he  has  such  a  good  class.  May  the  Lord  raise  up  many 
such  leaders." 

When  one  remembers  that  it  was  three  miles 
from  Mr.  Fletcher's  home  to  the  city,  over  a  rough 
and  hilly  road,  and  that  he  always  walked,  he  will 
see  something  of  the  devotion  that  inspired  this 
man  of  God  in  all  his  work.  The  leaders  to  whose 
classes  he  was  welcomed  often  as  their  leader  him- 
self, Governor  Abernethy  and  Mr.  H.  Patterson, 
were  among  the  most  thoroughly  equipped  leaders 
the  writer  has  ever  known.  Both  men  of  age  and 
experience,  well  trained  intellectually  as  well  as 
spiritually,  they  were  well  adapted  to  the  largest 
influence  in  their  spheres. 

Up  to  about  this  time  Mr.  Fletcher's  official  re- 
lation as  class  leader  had  been  with  classes  in 
rural  neighborhoods.  In  1868  he  was  appoint- 
ed by  Rev.  C.  C.  Stratton,  pastor  of  Tay- 
lor Street  Church  in  Portland,  leader  of  the 


THE  HIGHER  LIFE.  67 

morning  class.  He  had  felt  that  God  was  pre- 
paring him  for  greater  work,  but  what  it  might 
he  he  awaited  God's  movings  to  knowr.  So 
when  this  appointment  came  it  was  accepted  as 
from  God,  and  he  girded  himself  to  meet  its  re- 
sponsibilities in  the  best  and  most  useful  manner 
possible.  That  the  reader  may  see  a  little  deeper 
into  his  heart  we  quote  from  his  journal  under 
date  of  June  8th,  1869:— 

"Brother  Stratton  appointed  me  to  take  charge  of  the 
Sabbath  morning  class  at  9  o-clock.  My  confidence  is 
strong  in  God  that  He  will  greatly  bless  me  in  my  labor 
of  love.  I  have  been  asking  my  Heavenly  Father  that  He 
would  open  a  door  for  me  where  I  could  be  most  useful  for 
the  remainder  of  my  life,  and  I  have  reason  to  believe  that 
He  has  work  for  me  to  do  in  Portland.  O,  may  I  have  that 
grace  in  my  heart  that  will  make  me  to  be  greatly  useful 
in  winning  souls  to  Christ.  O,  my  Heavenly  Father,  when 
I  think  of  a  poor  sinner,  who  could  not  even  read,  saved  by 
grace  and  made  to  be  holding  such  an  important  office  In 
Thy  Church,  surely  I  must  say,  'eye  hath  not  seen  nor  ear 
heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  the 
tilings  which  thou  hast  laid  up  for  those  that  love  thee.'  " 

Mr.  Fletcher  began  his  service  in  his  class  meet- 
ing with  eight  present.  His  first  work  was  to  hunt 
up  the  long-absent  ones  and  gather  them  back  into 
the  fold.  Meantime  his  relation  to  his  former  class 


68  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

on  the  mountain  some  miles  from  the  city  con- 
tinued, and  they  were  as  faithfully  watched  and 
sought  after  as  ever.  But  the  time  was  coming 
near  when  much  of  that  widely  scattered  work  in 
the  country  that  he  had  attended  to  so  carefully 
for  such  a  length  of  time  would  be  given  up  to 
other  hands,  and  his  own  would  be  transferred  to 
the  more  concentrated  field  of  the  city.  After 
some  weeks  of  the  usual  routine  of  class  meetings, 
prayer  meeting  and  Sabbath  school  work  in  and 
about  the  city,  and  at  the  same  time  attending  to 
his  temporal  affairs  in  his  usual  exact  and  con- 
scientious manner,  the  Quarterly  Conference  of 
Taylor  Street  Church,  under  the  advice  of  the 
then  pastor,  Dr.  J.  H.  Wythe,  offered  him  the  very 
responsible  and  delicate  place  of  janitor  of  the 
church. 

Taylor  Street  Church  has  been  for  many  years 
the  leading  church  of  Methodism  in  the  North- 
west. A  large  church,  with  a  membership  count- 
ing many  hundreds,  and  a  great  congregation,  it 
was  no  small  work  to  care  for  the  church  itself  and 
look  after  the  accommodation  and  comfort  of  the 
congregations  that  thronged  its  services. 

It  is  not  strange  that  Mr.  Fletcher  hesitated. 


THE  HIGHER  LIFE.  69 

It  was  unlike  any  other  work  to  which  he  had 
ever  been  called.  It  had  much  to  do  with  the  tem- 
poral side  of  the  church  work,  and  might  possibly 
interfere  with  the  spiritual  opportunities  that  were 
so  dear  to  his  heart.  But  to  him  opportunities 
were  providences,  and  he  must  needs  lay  this  be- 
fore the  Lord  and  ask  for  His  direction  before  he 
answered.  He  says:  "I  spread  the  whole  matter 
before  the  Lord  and  asked  Him  what  I  should  do 
about  it.  The  passage  of  Scripture  that  was  ap- 
plied to  my  mind  was,  "Behold,  I  have  set  before 
thee  an  open  door.''  In  this  word  God's  voice  was 
heard  and  accordingly  he  accepted  the  offer  of 
the  church,  and  immediately  began  to  prepare  for 
the  removal  of  all  his  personal  interests  to  Port- 
land. He  entered  on  the  duties  to  which  he  had 
been  called  on  the  8th  day  of  November,  1868, 
with  this  characteristic  prayer  upon  his  lips: 

"May  God  enable  me  to  discharge  all  my  duties  in  the 
most  profitable  manner,  and  may  my  coming  among  this 
people  be  abundantly  blessed." 


CHAPTER    V. 

JANITOR    OF   TAYLOR  STREET   CHURCH. 

"I  rest  in  Thy  Almighty  power; 
The  name  of  Jesus  is  my  tower, 

That  hides  my  life  above. 
Thou  canst,  Thou  wilt  my  helper  he; 
My  confidence  is  all  in  Thee, 

Thou  faithful  God  of  Love." 

—Charles  Wesley. 

T7T  7"ITH  the  poetic  quotation  from  Charles 
V  *  Wesley  that  stands  at  the  head  of 
this  chapter,  Mr.  Fletcher  entered  upon  the 
work  of  18(59.  He  had  "entered  the  open  door," 
and  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  went  forward 
to  whatever  might  await  him  of  duty  or  priv- 
ilege in  the  years  to  come.  As,  in  addition  to 
that  specific  work  that  came  to  him  as  janitor 
of  the  church,  the  incessant  watchfulness  and 
care  for  the  comfort  of  the  congregation,  the 
constant  attention  to  all  those  matters  that  would 
make  the  public  services  attractive  and  profitable, 


JANITOR  TAYLOR  STREET  CHURCH.  71 

he  retained  his  relation  to  his  classes  as  leader  and 
performed  his  work  among  them  with  singular  ef- 
fectiveness and  intelligence,  this  may  be  a  proper 
place  to  give  some  description  of  the  character  of 
that  work. 

The  place  of  class  leader  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  has  been  hardly  second  to 
any  other  in  its  direct  influence  on  the  per- 
sonal experience  and  character  of  the  church  it- 
self. Its  theory  supposes  that  only  such  as 
are  themselves  well  grounded  in  the  Christian 
life  shall  be  appointed  to  it.  Besides  this,  there 
must  needs  be  a  discriminating  if  not  profound 
knowledge  of  the  vital  doctrines  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  especially  as  set  forth  in  the  teachings 
of  Methodism  in  her  books  of  theology  and  in  her 
standard  hymnology;  the  most  complete  and  per- 
fect that  is  to  be  found  in  all  the  Christian  church. 
Then,  an  essential  facility  in  simple  doctrinal  state- 
ment and  application,  with  a  readiness  in  calling  to 
mind  suitable  stanzas  of  a  hymn  when  it  can  serve 
a  useful  purpose;  a  discriminating  judgment  of 
human  nature;  kindness  coupled  with  firmness;  a 
heart  full  of  love  and  yet  full  of  fidelity;  a  soul 
capable  of  feeling  the  burdens  and  temptations  of 


72  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

others,  and  an  ability  to  lead  those  of  others  to  the 
great  Burden  Bearer  and  teach  them  how  to  "cast 
their  cares  on  Him  who  careth  for  them;"  all  these 
and  many  more  kindred  qualities  are  essential  to 
the  successful  class  leader. 

It  will  easily  be  seen  that  this  is  a  combination 
of  mental  and  moral  and  spiritual  and  even  physi- 
cal qualities  that  is  not  easy  to  find,  and  when  it  is 
found  it  is  an  inestimable  treasure  to  the  church 
that  possesses  it.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
the  spiritual  results  of  the  work  of  the  preacher  in 
the  pulpit  are  largely  saved  or  lost  to  the  church 
by  the  influence  of  capable  and  godly  leaders,  or 
by  the  neglect  and  weakness  of  incapable  and  care- 
less ones.  Many  hearts  are  prepared  for  a  tender 
and  helpful  waiting  upon  the  teachings  of  the  pul- 
pit by  the  more  direct  and  personal  teaching  of 
the  leader  before  the  pulpit  speaks,  or  after  it  has 
spoken  by  the  careful  and  loving  application  of 
the  truth  heard  to  the  mind  and  heart  of  the 
hearer  by  the  leader,  whose  alert  mind  and  recep- 
tive heart  have  taken  close  grip  of  each  truth 
needed  by  the  individual  members  of  his  class. 

William  Carvosso  has  been  the  patron  saint  of 
the  class-room  in  nearly  all  the  life  of  Methodism. 


JANITOR  TAYLOR-STREET  CHURCH.  73 

If  a  Methodist  needs  to  be  told  who  William  Car- 
vosso  was,  his  ignorance  of  Methodist  lore  is  too 
dense  to  be  illuminated  by  such  a  side  reference  as 
we  are  able  to  make  to  him  in  such  a  work  as  this. 
If  any  man  has  ever  been  appointed  a  class  leader, 
and  has  not  proceeded  at  once  to  familiarize  him- 
self with  the  doctrines  and  rules  of  the  church  he 
served,  and  in  immediate  connection  therewith  the 
personal  lives  and  official  methods  of  such  men  as 
Carvosso,  that  fact  alone  has  doomed  him  to  fail- 
ure, and  the  souls  of  those  committed  to  his  care 
to  injury  and  loss.  No  one  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Fletcher  could  expect  for  a  moment  that  he 
would  not  lay  hold  of  all  these  helps,  and  also  of 
any  other  that  might  come  to  his  knowledge. 

There  were  many  things  in  common  in  the  con- 
ditions, character  and  work  of  the  two  men.  Both 
were  born  in  low  estate.  Both  entered  upon  life 
in  humble  callings.  Both  were  entirely  uneduca- 
ted in  their  youth.  Both  learned  to  read  and  write 
when  considerably  advanced  in  life,  and  after  the 
grace  of  God  had  touched  and  awakened  their  in- 
tellects to  an  ambition  to  do  good  in  the  world. 
Both  had  charge  of  several  classes  at  the  same 
time.  Both  kept  up  a  wide  and  continued  corres- 


74  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

pondence  with  the  members  of  their  classes.  Both 
had  great  and  evenly  sustained  zeal  in  their  work. 
Both  had  strong  faith.  The  parallel  might  be  con- 
tinued. Something  of  this  came  doubtless  from 
the  fact  that  Mr.  Fletcher,  the  younger,  was  a 
careful  student  of  Carvosso,  the  elder,  not  as  an 
imitator,  but  as  a  disciple,  intelligently  compre- 
hending principles  and  carefully  applying  them. 

A  few  extracts  from  Mr.  Fletcher's  journal 
touching  his  class  methods  and  his  personal  ex- 
periences will  give  the  reader  a  better  knowledge 
of  the  elements  that  combined  in  him  to  make  his 
work  a  success  than  a  more  extended  ex  parte  de- 
scription. Under  date  of  January  24th,  1869,  he 
writes: — 

"Sabbath  morning.  I  read  our  church  rules  to  my  class 
this  morning.  I  want  them  to  be  well  informed  in  the  doc- 
trines and  principles  of  our  church.  It  is  a  source  of  much 
regret  to  me  that  our  people  are  so  ignorant  in  relation  to 
these.  I  intend,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  not  only  to  build 
my  class  up  in  the  'knowledge  of  the  truth,'  but  also  in  their 
duties  as  members  of  the  church." 

What  pureness,  what  trueness,  what  faithful- 
ness are  manifested  here!  On  the  very  next  Sun- 
day, Januay  31st,  he  makes  this  record: — 


JANITOR  TAYLOR-STREET   CHURCH.  75 

"In  place  of  our  regular  class  meeting  this  morning  I 
had  each  member  of  the  class  select  such  a  portion  of  one 
of  our  hymns  as  would  best  correspond  with  their  present 
experiences.  I  had  two  objects  in  view  in  this.  One  was 
that  they  might  be  made  more  familiar  with  our  hymns, 
and  the  other  that  I  might  vary  the  order  of  exercise  to  the 
greater  interest  and  profit  of  the  members.  I  wish  I  could 
get  them  to  study  our  hymn  book  more,  for  I  believe  that, 
next  to  the  Bible,  it  is  the  best  book  for  us  to  study.  It 
contains  such  a  body  of  divinity,  and  such  soul-stirring 
praises  to  God  that  its  greater  use  would  be  a  great  benefit 
to  them  all.  They  would  then  'sing  with  the  Spirit  and 
with  the  understanding  also.'  " 

An  experienced  Christian  can  readily  see  the 
skill  of  ''the  master  workman"  displayed  in  such  di- 
versified and  ingenious  methods  of  spiritual  work. 
He  will  imagine  what  an  impression  would  be 
made  on  other  minds  when  one  would  quote  such 
stanzas  as: — 

"Now  1  have  found  the  ground  wherein 
Sure  my  soul's  anchor  may  remain; 
The  wounds  of  Jesus,  for  my  sin 

Before  the  world's  foundation  slain; 
Whose  mercy  shall  unshaken  stay 
When  heaven  and  earth  are  fled  away." 

Or  this  from  Charles  Wesley: — 


7(;  WILLIAM   S.   FLETCHER. 

"Long  my  imprisoned  spirit  lay 

Fast  bound  in  sin  and  nature's  night; 
Thine  eye  diffused  a  quickening  ray; 

I  woke,  the  dungeon  flamed  with  light; 
My  chains  fell  off,  my  heart  was  free, 
I  rose,  went  forth,  and  followed  Thee. 

And  then  some  weary  one  sings  from  Bonar:— 

"I  heard  the  voice  of  Jesus  say: 

'Come  unto  me  and  rest; 
Lay  down,  thou  weary  one,  lay  down 

Thy  head  upon  my  breast!' 
I  came  to  Jesus  as  I  was, 

Weary  and  worn  and  sad; 
I  found  in  Him  a  resting  place, 

And  He  hath  made  me  glad." 

And  then  some  one  further  on  in  the  divine  life, 
better  acquainted  with  God  than  most,  repeats  as 
the  experience  of  perfect  trust: — 

"Thee  will  I  love,  my  joy,  my  crown; 

Thee  will  I  love,  my  Lord,  my  God; 
Thee  will  I  love,  beneath  Thy  frown 

Or  smile,  Thy  scepter  or  Thy  rod. 
What  though  my  heart  and  flesh  decay? 
Thee  shall  I  love  in  endless  day." 

Now  it  is  a  stanza  expressive  of  penitence,  now 
of  pardon,  now  of  cleansing,  of  sanctification,  now 


JANITOR  TAYLOR-STREET  CHURCH.  77 

of  faith's  triumph,  now  of  the  hope  of  heaven. 
Who  could  go  away  from  such  a  service  unedified 
and  unblest? 

Another  marked  peculiarity  of  Mr.  Fletcher's 
work  as  class  leader  was  the  great  interest  he  took 
in  the  new  members,  especially  the  young  people, 
added  to  his  class.  Evidencing  this  is  a  record  he 
makes  in  his  journal  under  date  of  March  14th, 
1869.  He  says:  - 

"Sabbath  morning.  The  Lord  Jesus  has  added  one  more 
new  member  to  my  class.  This  is  a  dear  little  boy,  Herbert 
Xorthrup,  who  has  early  given  his  heart  to  Jesus.  O,  may 
I  have  grace  to  take  care  of  these  precious  lambs  which  are 
entrusted  to  my  care.  The  Lord  is  blessing  my  class. 
Many  of  them  are  truly  hungering  and  thirsting  after  right- 
eousness, and  I  am  looking  to  see  them  filled." 

Northrup  was  a  name  long  and  greatly  honored 
in  the  Methodism  of  Portland,  and  of  the  entire 
Northwest.  Herbert  was  the  eldest  son  of  E.  J. 
Northrup,  who  was  converted  to  God  in  the  meet- 
ings held  in  Portland  by  Rev.  A.  B.  Earle.  to 
which  reference  has  been  previously  made.  The 
father  lived  a  very  devoted  life,  and,  although  en- 
gaged in  large  business  enterprises,  gave  much 
time  and  means  to  the  direct  spiritual  work  of  the 
church.  He  became  the  leading  layman  of  the 


78  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER, 

city,  was  a  delegate  from  the  Lay  Electoral  Con- 
ference of  the  Oregon  Conference  to  the  General 
Conference,  and,  when  in  the  full  course  of  liis 
most  useful  life,  was  suddenly  killed  by  an  acci- 
dent in  his  storehouse.  He  was,  and,  in  a  moment, 
"he  was  not,  for  God  took  him."  Herbert,  the 
young  boy  of  whom  Mr.  Fletcher  speaks  above  so 
tenderely,  lived  a  few  beautiful  years  after  he 
united  with  the  class  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  and  then 
went  to  join  his  translated  father  in  the  celestial 
land.  Their  names  have  the  perfume  of  ointment 
poured  forth  in  the  church  in  Portland. 

We  have  already  mentioned  Mr.  Fletcher's  habit 
of  a  close  and  religious  correspondence  with  mem- 
bers of  his  classes  and  others  in  whom  he  took  a 
special  interest,  as  one  of  his  distinguishing  quali- 
ties as  a  class  leader  and  general  Christian  worker. 
This  extended  not  only  to  those  who  were  near, 
but  to  those  far  away  as  well.  Wherever  he  jour- 
neyed, by  sea  or  land,  his  heart  never  forgot  the 
land  of  his  birth,  nor  the  friends  of  his  early  life 
there.  His  journal  often  speaks  of  some  of  them 
in  terms  of  peculiar  tenderness.  While  he  was  com- 
municating to  them  assurances  of  his  recollection 
of  them,  and  often  making  to  some  of  them  remit- 


JANITOR  TAYLOR  STREET   CHURCH.  79 

tances  of  money,  he  evidently  never  forgot  their 
spiritual  good,  but  wrote  and  prayed  in  constant 
hope  that  his  words  might  become  the  instrument 
of  their  salvation.  Nor  was  his  labor  in  vain,  or 
his  hope  in  this  regard  cut  off.  An  incident  illus- 
trating this  is  given  in  his  journal  February  22d, 
1869.  He  writes  of  two  friends  in  Ireland:— 

"I  received  a  letter  from  Eliza  Floyd  and  Margaret  Floyd 
which  has  made  my  heart  glad.  I  find  by  it  that  God  has 
seen  fit  to  use  me  as  the  instrument  in  His  hand  in  their 
conversion.  O  Lord,  'my  cup  runneth  over'  with  joy  to 
think  that  Thou  canst  convert  even  in  Ireland  as  well  as 
in  Oregon,  and  that  in  every  nation  he  that  feareth  Thee 
and  worketh  righteousness  is  accepted  of  Thee.'  O  may 
the  good  seed  that  has  been  planted  in  their  hearts  bring 
forth  abundant  fruit  to  the  glory  of  my  God.  Although  I 
am  far  away  from  them,  my  heart  is  often  present  with 
them,  and  they  are  doubly  dear  to  me  now  that  we  are 
united  in  the  bonds  of  Christian  love.  O  may  the  riches  of 
God's  grace  be  multiplied  to  them,  and  may  they  become 
burning  and  shining  lights  in  that  portion  of  God's  green 
earth.  Although  I  am  far  away  from  it  I  love  it  still.  My 
soul  often  desires  that  God  in  His  good  providence  should 
open  the  way  that  I  might  once  more  visit  them,  and  there 
make  known  to  them  personally  the  riches  of  His  grace. 
But  I  will  lay  myself  in  His  hands,  with  the  assurance 
that,  if  it  is  His  will,  I  shall  go  there,  but  if  it  is  not,  then 
His  will,  not  mine,  be  done. 

"In  all  my  ways  His  hand  I  own." 


80  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

The  summer  of  1869  marked  a  serious  decline  in 
the  spiritual  condition  of  the  church  with  which 
Mr.  Fletcher  was  connected.  It  seemed  a  period 
when  mere  "table-serving''  and  temporalities  occu- 
pied the  minds  of  both  pastor  and  people  to  a  very 
alarming  extent.  Mr.  Fletcher  was  greatly  dis- 
tressed over  this  condition  of  things,  and  for  a 
time  was  inclined  to  believe  that  his  work  in  Port- 
land was  done,  and  God  was  about  to  call  him 
into  some  other  field;  but,  though  he  felt  this 
impression  for  a  short  time,  opening  providences 
soon  satisfied  that  there  was  yet  work  reserved  in 
the  counsels  of  the  Master  for  him  to  perform  here 
and  he  turned  to  it  with  unabated  zeal,  even  when 
so  many  about  him  had  doubtful  and  fainting 
hearts.  Another  class — a  class  of  young  boys — 
was  put  under  his  care,  and  he  gave  it  the  same 
faithful  attention  and  prayerful  instruction  that 
marked  his  relation  with  all  his  classes.  He  was 
also  elected  a  member  of  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  of  the  city,  and  took  an  active 
and  useful  part  in  all  its  work.  About  this  time 
there  fell  into  his  hands  a  copy  of  George  Muller's 
"Life  of  Trust,"  a  work  that  records  the  wonderful 
experiences  of  that  man  of  God  in  entering  on  and 


JANITOR  TAYLOR-STKEET  CHURCH.  Kl 

and  carrying  forward  his  great  school  and  orphan- 
age undertakings.  The  reading  of  this  book  was 
a  means  of  great  benefit  to  him,  as  it  has  been  to 
thousands.  From  its  reading  he  was  led  to  adopt 
Romans  13-8.:  "Owe  no  man  anything,  but  to 
love  one  another;  for  he  that  loveth  another  has 
fulfilled  the  law,"  as  the  rule  for  the  remainder  of 
his  life.  At  the  close  of  18G9  he  makes  this  remark- 
able record: 

"I  have  not  been  absent  from  my  class  meeting;  nor  from 
any  other  meeting  of  the  church  a  single  time  during  the 
year.  I  have  spent  over  eleven  hours  every  Sabbath  in  the 
church  attending  to  the  various  duties  of  tho  sanctuary, 
and  notwithstanding  all  this  labor  and  care  and  anxiety. 
God's  grace  has  always  been  sufficient  for  me.  On  enter- 
ing upon  1870  it  is  with  the  desire  in  my  heart  to  be  more 
faithful,  more  useful,  and  more  abundant  in  those  labors 
of  love.  I  have  set  apart  Friday  of  every  week  for  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Lord  in  any  way  His  providence  may  direct." 

Any  one  who  has  followed  carefully  the  story  of 
Mr.  Fletcher's  life  up  to  this  time,  must  surely 
wonder  how  he  could  be  more  faithful,  except  in 
the  use  of  the  new  strength  he  had  been  constantly 
gaining  in  his  life  of  singular  consecration,  up  to 
this  hour. 

About  this  time  another  class    of    twenty-four 


82  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

young  girls  was  committed  to  his  care.  This  class 
had  been  under  the  instruction  of  Mrs.  Patterson, 
a  most  capable  and  godly  woman,  whose  personal 
influence  over  Mr.  Fletcher  himself  had  been  a 
strong  factor  in  the  development  of  his  own  high 
Christian  life.  It  was  no  slight  mark  of  the  high 
place  he  had  attained  in  the  confidence  of  the 
church  that  these  places  of  special  responsibility 
fell  to  him,  not  from  any  desire  on  his  part  to  ob- 
tain them,  but  because  no  one  else  seemed  so  well 
fitted  to  aid  the  young  people  forward  in  the  true 
divine  life  as  he.  Not  only  this,  the  young  people 
themselves  were  delighted  to  have  him  as  their 
counselor  and  friend,  and  under  his  direction  many 
of  them  were  early  brought  to  a  clear  knowledge 
of  their  adoption  into  the  family  of  God.  With 
the  care  of  three  of  the  most  important  classes  of 
the  church,  the  diversified  and  never  ceasing  du- 
ties of  his  janitorship,  and  also  his  wide  correspon- 
dence, it  is  not  strange  that  at  the  close  of  the 
year  he  felt  that  his  duties  pressed  heavily  upon 
him.  Yet  he  expresses  "thankfulness  that  God 
gives  them  to  him  to  discharge,"  and  that  he  "has 
reason  to  belive  that  he  blesses  him  therein."  With 
such  reflections  on  his  work,  and  with  such  resolu- 


JANITOR  TAYLOR-STREET  CHURCH.  83 

tions  for  the  future,  Mr.  Fletcher  comes  to  a  point 
that  marks  the  beginning-  of  another  distinct  era 
in  the  story  of  his  life. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

MARRIAGE. 

"We  are  weaving  the  thread  of  our  life's  webs 

Day  by  day; 
And  its  colors  are  sometimes  sombre, 

Sometimes  gay; 

For  \ve  dye  it  with  every  passing  thought, 
And  by  words  and  deeds  is  the  pattern  wrought." 

— Bradt, 

the  24th  day  of  May,  1871,  Mr.  Fletcher  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Lizzie  Brown. 
As  some  notice  will  hereafter  be  given  of  the  re- 
lations of  his  companion  to  the  larger  and  most 
useful  part  of  his  career,  it  is  only  necessary  now  to 
make  such  mention  of  her  as  seems  to  be  needful 
in  connection  with  the  incident  of  their  marriage. 
Mr.  Fletcher  himself  was  fully  impressed  with  the 
belief  that  this  marriage  was  of  the  Lord's  own 
ordering,  and  he  therefore  entered  upon  it  in  a  de- 
vout and  tender  frame  of  mind.  Miss  Brown  was 
about  his  own  age,  and  well  calculated  to  sustain 
and  help  her  husband  in  the  work  in  which  he  was 


MARRIAGE.  85 

now  engaged,  and  in  that  upon  which  he  after- 
wards entered. 

Miss  Brown  was  born  in  Buffalo,  New  York. 
She  was  left  an  orphan  at  an  early  age,  yet  in  early 
childhood  she  gave  her  heart  to  the  Lord,  and 
lived  a  pure  Christian  life  through  all  the  changes 
of  her  subsequent  career.  She  came  to  Portland 
about  a  year  before  her  marriage,  and  was  a  close 
attendant  on  the  services  of  the  church.  In  this 
way  she  commended  herself  to  the  confidence  and 
love  of  the  church,  and  especially  of  Mr.  Fletcher, 
and  both  accepted  it  as  of  the  Lord's  will  that  they 
should  become  one  in  Christ  Jesus.  Our  readers 
will  hear  more  of  her  hereafter. 

Mr.  Fletcher  always  took  great  interest  in  his 
pastor.  In  proportion  as  he  was  a  man  devoted  to 
God  and  able  to  instruct  the  people  in  the  "things 
pertaining  to  life  and  godliness,"  he  found  in  Mr. 
Fletcher  a  signal  help  in  leading  the  people  for- 
ward. But  if  the  pastor  chanced  to  have  a  worldly 
spirit,  or  was  disposed  to  compromise  truth  by 
yielding  to  doubtful  social  customs  or  demands, 
though  no  factious  and  contentious  opposition 
was  made  to  him,  yet  he  could  not  be  in  doubt  as 
to  the  position  Mr.  Fletcher  occupied.  He  was 


8G  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

friendly  and  gracious  with  all,  but  his  closest  Chris- 
tian intimacies  were  with  those  who  walked  on  the 
highest  paths  of  the  Christian  way.    In  reading  his 
journal,  the  writer  has  observed  that  every  one  of 
his  pastors  was  welcomed  with  words  of  trust  and 
hope,  even  if  thereafter  he  showed  his  want  of  the 
best  instincts  of  the  spiritual  life,  and  led,  or  per- 
mitted his  people  to  drift  into  doubtful  ways  of 
worldly  compliance.     In  such  case,  and  in  these 
things,   Mr.   Fletcher  parted  company  with  him, 
even  while  he  gave  his  active  support  in  every  way 
to  the  general  work  of  the  church.     Several  in- 
stances of  this  kind  had  occured  previous  to  the 
time  of  which  we  are  now  writing,  but  in  none  of 
them  was  there  the  slightest  evidence  of  disloyalty 
to  the  church,  but  constant  tokens  of  the  greatest 
fidelity  to  all  her  interests    and     economy.     The 
work  of  the  summer  of  1871,  was  not  closing  pros- 
perously with  the  church  where  he  had  labored  so 
long  and  earnestly,  and  as  conference  approached 
he  was  excedingly  anxious  in  relation  to  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  pastor  for  the  next  year.    This  did 
not  arise  out  of  any  question  of  personal  friendship, 
but  with  a  single  reference  to  the  spiritual  condi- 
tion and  progress  of  the  church. 


MARRIAGE.  87 

The  annual  conference  of  1871  was  held  in  Tay- 
lor Street  Church,and  Bishop  Edmund  S.  Janes 
was  its  presiding  officer.  Our  readers  will  remem- 
ber that  Bishop  Janes  had  traveled  in  the  stage 
coach  from  Yreka,  California,  to  Oregon,  in  com- 
pany with  Mr.  Fletcher  in  1863.  They  recalled  the 
incidents  of  the  journey  with  mutual  satisfaction 
as  they  met  here  eight  years  thereafter.  When  the 
conference  closed  Bishop  Janes  announced  as  the 
pastor  for  the  coming  year,  Rev.  G.  W.  Izer,  who 
was  transferred  from  the  Central  Pennsylvania 
Conference  to  the  Oregon  for  this  special  charge. 
Probably  no  pastor  that  the  church  ever  had  in- 
fluenced the  thought  and  hope  of  Mr.  Fletcher 
more  strongly  or  more  favorably  than  did  Mr. 
Izer.  Young,  alert,  spiritual  and  intellectual,  his 
ministry  was  full  of  an  attractive  and  stimulating 
unction  that  peculiarly  attracted  the  people,  and 
was  especially  helpful  to  Mr.  Fletcher  in  his  per- 
sonal experience,  as  well  as  in  his  relations  to  the 
work  of  the  Master  that  lay  so  near  his  heart.  It  is 
with  no  feeling  of  surprise  that  we  read  in  his  jour- 
nal at  the  close  of  the  conference  session,  "I  look 
for  great  things  from  the  hand  of  the  Lord 
through  him  this  year.''  At  the  end  of  the  first 


88  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

month  of  Mr.  Izer's  pastorate,  the  house  was  filled 
with  a  very  serious  congregation;  a  number  had 
been  converted,  several  had  professed  sanctifica- 
tion,  the  prayer  meetings  and  class  meetings  had 
revived  and  the  entire  outlook  for  the  church  had 
been  changed  from  one  of  clouds  and  doubt  and 
fear,  to  one  of  bright  skies  and  conquering  faith, 
and  confident  courage.  No  wonder  that  Mr. 
Fletcher  greatly  rejoiced,  giving  glory  to  God. 

At  this  period  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  we 
note,  for  the  first  time,  a  record  of  his  entering 
upon  a  work  that  was  eventually  to  prove  the 
great  work  of  his  life.  What  it  was  will  appear  if 
we  quote  a  sentence  or  two  from  his  journal  under 
date  of  September  14th,  1871: 

"Since  Conference  I  have  been  distributing  tracts  among 
the  hotels  and  boarding  houses  and  shops  and  steamboats, 
and  have  done  some  little  missionary  work  in  connection 
with  it.  The  Lord  blesses  me  in  it,  and  my  prayer  is  that 
He  will  continue  to  make  me  more  useful.  I  love  this  work 
of  distributing  tracts;  it  gives  me  such  opportunities  to 
speak  a  word  for  Jesus  to  the  sailors  about  the  ships  and 
inviting  them  to  our  meetings." 

About  two  weeks  later  he  records  that: 

"For  the  two  weeks  work  twenty-four  persons  have  been 
converted  and  four  made  perfect  in  love,  and  among  the 


MARRIAGE.  89 

twenty-four  are  three  sailors  belonging  to  vessels  in  port. 
I  trust  the  Lord  has  used  me  as  an  instrument  for  the  sal- 
vation of  these  souls,  and  I  look  for  still  greater  results  yet 
in  the  salvation  of  more  of  them  before  our  meeting 
closes." 

Two  weeks  later  a  second  record  says  that  fifty- 
two  had  been  converted  and  six  made  perfect  in 
love,  and  that  among  them  was  another  of  the 
"sailor  boys,"  the  second  mate  of  the  English  bark 
Bristolian,  making  three  from  her  and  one  from 
another  ship.  He  prays  that  the  little  leaven  that 
has  been  hid  in  the  heart  of  these  sailor  chaps  will 
so  work  that  the  whole  of  the  ship's  company  will 
be  leavened." 

The  early  occupation  of  Mr.  Fletcher  as  a  sailor 
even  long  before  his  conversion,  now  began  to 
show  its  ffects  in  his  readiness  for  the  work  God 
was  preparing  for  him.  He  could  not  have  im- 
agined as  he  was  passing  through  the  hard  lessons 
of  a  sailor's  life  what  an  influence  these  lessons 
\\oulcl  have  after  many  years  upon  his  career;  and 
certainly  those  who  saw  him  in  his  rough  garb 
and  perilous  exposures  would  never  have  thought 
that  out  of  these  untoward  conditions  would  come 
at  last  a  character  so  refined  and  a  life  so  conse- 


90  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

crated.  With  a  new  attainment  of  strength,  and 
this  leading  by  Providence  into  new  and  promis- 
ing fields  of  Christian  work,  Mr.  Fletcher  closed 
the  year  1871.  His  reflections  are  so  pertinent, 
and  express  so  much  of  the  spirit  that  was  his  best 
furnishing  for  the  work  of  his  life,  that  we  give  an 
extract  from  them  under  date  of  January  1st, 
1872: 

"The  past  year  has  been  one  rich  in  mercy  to  me  and  my 
companions.  I  have  devoted  this  year  entirely  to  the  ser- 
vice of  God  in  the  various  duties  connected  with  my  work 
in  the  church.  It  has  been  the  burden  of  my  prayers  to 
God  that  He  would  so  bless  me  in  the  labors  of  my  hands 
that  I  would  be  able  to  devote  all  my  time  and  little  talent 
to  Him,  and  to-day,  in  looking  back  over  the  year  that  is 
just  closed,  surely  my  prayers  have  been  most  abundantly 
answered.  My  Heavenly  Father  has  has  not  only  given  me 
a  nice  home,  but  one  of  the  best  of  companions  to  share  it 
with  me.  We  are  one  in  spirit  in  serving  the  Lord.  In  en- 
tering this  new  year  myself  and  wife  have  consecrated 
ourselves  and  all  that  we  possess  anew  to  God,  to  be  used 
as  His  good  providence  may  direct;  and  may  the  grace  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  abide  with  us." 

This  character  of  work  continued  with  Mr. 
Fletcher  through  1872.  The  latter  part  of  the 
year  was  signalized  by  a  gracious  revival  of  re- 
ligion in  the  church  in  Portland,  and  in  the  revival 


MARRIAGE.  91 

Mr.  Fletcher  was  in  labors  most  abundant,  and  his 
soul  flamed  with  purifying  fire.  Probably  Taylor 
Street  Church  never  had  a  higher  and  purer  re- 
ligious life  than  at  this  time. 

Mr.  Fletcher's  work  was  extending  more  and 
more  among  the  sailors.  He  says  of  January  1st, 
1873:- 

"  I  have  been  greatly  blest  in  my  labors  among  the  sail- 
ors in  this  port.  How  thankful  I  am  that  I  have  been  to 
sea  myself  in  my  younger  days,  as  I  can  adapt  myself  so 
readily  to  their  wants.  I  am  so  well  acquainted  with  all 
the  "land  sharks"  and  sailor  boarding  house  runners,  that 
I  am  able  to  warn  the  sailors  of  their  dangers  when  on 
shore.  I  have  been  very  succesful  in  getting  many  of  them 
to  attend  my  Sabbath  morning  class,  and  many  of  them 
have  been  converted  in  the  class  rooms,  and  have  gone  to 
sea  happy  in  the  Lord.  I  have  realized  in  the  past  year 
more  than  ever  before  the  importance  of  living  a  holy  life, 
and  being  fully  consecrated  to  God  and  His  work:  as  it  re- 
moves from  me  a  man-fearing  spirit,  and  gives  me  that 
liberty  in  my  work  that  I  need  so  much.  My  wife  is  also 
rejoicing  in  the  same  blessed  experience  with  me.  It  makes 
our  work  so  pleasant  for  us,  and  our  home  so  happy,  and  it 
gives  us  favor  with  the  people  so  that  we  can  do  them 
good." 

During  1873  the  shipping  entering  the  Port  of 
Portland  greatly  increased,  and  so  Mr.  Fletcher's 
work  among  the  sailors  became  more  and  more 


92  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

important.  A  much  larger  number  than  ever 
were  induced  by  him  to  attend  church  and  class 
meeting,  where  he  found  it  easy  to  teach  them, 
and  lead  them  into  a  Christian  life.  So  rapidly  did 
this  work  grow  under  the  faithful  hand  of  Mr. 
Fletcher  that  on  January  1st,  1874,  we  find  him 
expressing  the  expectation  of  seeing  at  no  distant 
day  "a  Seaman's  Chaplain  and  Bethel  for  the  men 
of  the  sea." 


CHAPTER     VII. 

CRUSADERS. 

Not  many  lives,  but  only  one  have  we 

Our  only  one; 
How  sacred  should  that  one  life  ever  be! 

That  narrow  span, 

Day  after  day,  filled  up  with  blessed  toil, 
Hour  after  hour  still  bringing  us  new  toll. 

— Bonar. 

EARLY  in  1874  there  occurred  in  the  moral 
and  religious  history  of  the  city  of  Portland 
a  series  of  incidents  with  which  Mr.  Fletcher  and 
his  wife  were  actively  identified,  that  should  have 
some  notice  in  this  work.  They  grew  out  of  the 
organization  and  work  of  "The  Woman's  Temper- 
ance Prayer  League." 

The  saloon  power  had  become  so  formidable  in 
the  city,  and  all  the  crimes  that  are  fostered  and 
sustained  by  that  power  so  prevalent,  that  a  num- 
ber of  the  Godly  women  of  the  city,  of  various  de- 
nominations, banded  themselves  together  for  a 


94  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

"crusade"  against  it.  There  were  perhaps  forty  in 
all  who  enrolled  themselves  in  the  band;  women 
who  led  the  active  religious  work  of  the  several 
city  churches,  and  whose  hearts  were  stirred  within 
them  when  they  saw  the  city  so  wholly  given  up  to 
the  ravages  of  intemperance  and  all  its  attendant 
crimes.  They  resolved  to  go  upon  the  streets,  and 
even  into  the  saloons,  and  by  songs  and  prayer  and 
personal  appeals,  try  to  stay  the  tide  of  destruc- 
tion. There  were  but  thirteen  of  them  at  the  first 
enrolment,  and  the  second  name  on  the  list  was 
"Lizzie  Fletcher."  They  had  a  very  active  and 
and  even  enthusiastic  support  from  Rev.  G.  W. 
Izer,  pastor  of  the  First  M.  E.  Church;  Rev.  G.  H. 
Atkinson,  pastor  of  the  First  Congregational 
Church,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Medbury,  of  the  First  Bap- 
tist Church.  The  other  pastors  of  the  city  gave 
the  movement  only  a  reluctant  support,  Their 
work  was  first  confined  to  earnest  prayer  in  the 
meetings  of  the  League  and  at  home,  but  before 
long  they  felt  it  their  duty  to  go  upon  the  streets- 
and  carry  the  battle  of  prayer  to  the  very  gates  of 
the  saloons.  It  was  the  veritable  march  of  the 
"Crusaders"  when  these  godly  women  went  forth 
out  of  the  front  door  of  old  Taylor  Street  Church, 


CRUSADERS.  95 

led  by  the  unseen  "Captain  of  their  Salvation" 
against  the  giant  foe  of  all  good  on  the  crowded 
streets  of  the  city,  not  knowing  to  what  insults  and 
oppositions  they  went.  Martyrdom  itself  could 
not  be  more  to  be  dreaded.  Foul  insults  of  low 
and  villainous  speech  were  heaped  upon  them  from 
the  habitues  of  the  saloons.  Horsewhips  were  plied 
upon  their  backs.  Streams  of  water  from  the  hose 
pipes  were  turned  over  them,  but  none  of  these 
things  moved  them.  They  had  hold  of  God,  and 
nothing  seemed  able  to  make  them  unloose  their 
grip.  They  reviled  not  again.  They  replied  to 
angry  oaths  with  sweet-voiced  songs  and  earnest 
prayer.  They  remembered  the  Master's  code  of 
Christian  warfare,  "bless  them  that  curse  you,  and 
pray  for  them  that  despitefully  use  you  and  perse- 
cute you."  This  they  literally  did.  No  braver,  no- 
bler Christian  spirit  ever  was  exhibited. 

So  deep  was  the  impression  made  on  the  public 
mind  of  Portland  by  the  heroic  and  devoted  as 
well  as  determined  course  of  these  noble  women — 
for  they  were  noble  in  every  sense — that  the  saloon 
forces  saw  that  their  cause  was  doomed  to  fall  un- 
less, in  some  way,  the  efforts  of  these  women  could 
be  stopped.  Five  of  the  women  were  arrested  for 


96  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

praying  on  the  street,  under  the  charge  of  disor- 
derly and  riotous  conduct.  Among  these  was  Mrs. 
Fletcher.  The  city  magistrate  spent  two  days  in 
the  mockery  of  a  trial,  and  then  they  were  found 
"guilty"  and  fined  "f 5.00  each  or  one  day  in  pris- 
on." They  refused  to  pay  the  fine,  choosing,  prop- 
erly, to  endure  the  imprisonment  rather  than  in 
any  way  to  recognize  the  semblance  of  justice  in 
the  action  of  the  court,  and  accordingly  they  were 
locked  up  in  the  city  prison.  Such  is  the  mercy 
and  justice  that  wrong  gives  to  right  when  right 
makes  .  even  the  insurrection  of  prayer  against 
wrong.  As  though  prisons  could  manacle  prayer, 
or  iron  walls  defeat  the  power  of  God  to  finally 
avenge  His  people! 

At  evening  of  the  day  of  their  incarceration  Mr. 
Fletcher  visited  the  prison  where  they  were  con- 
fined, to  observe  their  spirit,  and  especially  to  see 
if  his  wife  needed  anything  for  her  comfort  during 
the  night.  He  says: 

"I  shall  never  forget  the  impression  that  was  made  on  my 
mind  while  there  with  her  in  prison  for  about  half  an  hour 
before  she  was  locked  up  for  the  night.  She  was  very 
happy  in  the  Lord;  not  only  willing  to  spend  one  night  in 
prison,  but  also  to  suffer  death,  if  need  be,  for  the  cause 


CRUSADERS.  97 

of  Christ.     All  the  ladies  that  were  with  her  In  prison 
would  have  been  willing  to  do  the  same." 

How  strange  the  senseless  enthusiasm  of  sin  for 
its  own  cause!  How  strange  that  eighteen  cen- 
turies have  not  sufficed  to  teach  iniquity  that  there 
is  no  real  refuge  for  it  in  law;  that  its  victories  are 
always  its  defeat,  and  its  crowns  of  thorns  on  the 
brow  of  right  always  change  to  coronets  of  glory. 

Immediately  after  these  ladies  were  released  from 
their  imprisonment  they  and  their  coadjutors  of 
the  praying  band  continued  their  work  on  the 
streets  and  in  the  saloons  until  June,  but  even  be- 
sotted crime  did  not  attempt  to  stay  their  proceed- 
ings by  prosecutions  or  limit  the  freedom  of  prayer 
by  prison  walls. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  this  active  "Crusade,"  the 
pastoral  term  of  Rev.  G.  W.  Izer  closed  at  Taylor 
Street  Church,  and  he  was  transferred  to  the  East. 
His  preaching  and  pastoral  labor  had  proved  a 
great  mental  and  spiritual  help  to  Mr.  Fletcher, 
and  it  was  with  sincere  regret  that  he  bade  him 
"good-bye"  as  he  retired.  Nor  had  Mr.  Izer  any 
less  cause  to  feel  gratitude  to  Mr.  Fletcher  for  the 
full,  constant  and  efficient  support  received  from 
him.  In  the  cheering  words,  unpretending  kind- 


98  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

ness  and  helpful  attentions  given  him  by  the  latter 
at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances  not  a  little 
of  the  good  wrought  by  Mr.  Izer  in  Portland  had 
its  origin  and  support. 

The  years  1875  and  1876  were,  with  Mr.  Fletch- 
er, in  the  main  incidents  of  his  life,  like  those  that 
had  preceeded  them.  There  was  no  lessening,  but 
rather  an  increase  of  his  responsibility  and  work. 
The  number  of  ships  that  entered  the  port  contin- 
ued to  increase,  and  with  that  his  work  among  the 
sailors  enlarged.  More  of  them  attended  his 
classes  and  the  general  services  of  the  church  than 
ever  before.  Evidently  the  seed  that  Mr.  Fletcher 
almost  alone  had  sown  in  the  hearts  of  "the  men  of 
the  sea,"  who  had  visited  the  port  was  beginning 
to  bear  its  ripened  fruit  all  over  the  world. 

Many  incidents  of  thrilling  interest  occurred  in 
connection  with  his  work;  incidents  that  made 
his  name  and  work  familiar  to  seafaring  men  every- 
where. At  one  time  a  sailor  was  converted  in  one 
of  his  meetings  in  Taylor  Street  Church.  The 
next  morning  Mr.  Fletcher  met  him  and  inquired 
if  he  had  written  the  good  news  of  his  conversion 
to  his  wife  in  Liverpool.  The  sailor  replied,  "No; 
I  could  not  keep  her  waiting  for  two  weeks  to 


CRUSADERS.  99 

know  what  God  had  done  for  me,  but  I  have  sent 
a  cablegram  this  morning.''  So  the  good  work  of 
this  true  friend  of  the  seamen  was  becoming  known 
in  every  port.  It  may  be  truly  said  that,  up  to  this 
time,  very  little  had  been  done  in  Portland  for  the 
salvation  of  the  sailors  that  was  not  done  directly 
through  the  instrumentality  of  Mr.  Fletcher.  Of 
the  increase  of  this  great  work  we  shall  see  more 
hereafter. 

As  we  pass  down  the  way  in  the  story  of  Mr. 
Fletcher's  life,  it  seems  needful  that  we  illustrate 
the  influence  that  continually  aided  in  the  develop- 
ment of  his  life  by  some  references  from  the  men 
and  women  with  whom  he  wrought  in  the  inti- 
macies of  Christian  friendship.  Few  men  have  had 
their  friendships  pitched  on  a  higher  key,  and  he 
had  the  faculty  of  absorbing  good  out  of  them  all. 
His  own  sincerity  of  word  and  deed  was  so  obvious 
that  he  needed  no  other  credentials  to  open  his 
way  to  the  trust  and  confidence  of  others. 

Among  those  who,  for  years,  was  most  closely 
connected  with  him  in  his  church  work,  and  per- 
haps more  intimately  connected  with  the  develop- 
ment of  his  own  spiritual  life,  was  Mr.  George  Ab- 
ernethy.  His  death,  which  occurred  on  the  2d 


100  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

day  of  May,  1877,  brought  to  the  whole  church 
sadness,  and  especially  to  the  heart  of  Mr.  Fletcher. 
When  we  study  the  character  and  career  of  Mr. 
Abernethy,  and  then  consider  how  intimately 
these  two  men  were  associated  in  the  work  of  the 
church  in  Portland  for  so  many  years,  we  shall  un- 
derstand this  fact  better. 

Mr.  Abernethy  was  a  thoroughly  trained  and 
cultivated  Christian  gentleman.  Few  finer  speci- 
mens of  that  beautiful  product  of  the  Christian  civ- 
ilization of  America  have  been  seen  among  us.  He 
was  eminent  in  all  the  relations  of  a  most  enter- 
prising and  useful  life.  After  an  early  discipline 
and  training  in  business  and  in  Christian  life  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  under  such  eminent  teachers  as 
Nathan  Bangs,  Samuel  Mervvin  and  their  com- 
peers and  coadjutors,  he  was  chosen  by  the  Mis- 
sionary Board  of  the  M.  E.  Church  to  be  put  in 
charge  of  the  financial  inerests  of  its  missions  in 
Oregon  in  1839,  and  came  to  this  coast  in  the 
capacity  of  Missionary  Steward.  Here  he  served 
faithfully  in  that  capacity  as  long  as  such  an  officer 
was  needed,  or  until  1846,  when  he  entered  busi- 
ness for  himself,  and  became  the  best  known  of  the 
early  merchants  of  Oregon.  He  was  chosen  as 


CRUSADERS.  101 

Governor  of  the  Territory  under  the  Provisional 
Government,  and  re-elected  to  the  same  place, 
serving  as  such  until  the  general  government  ex- 
tended its  jurisdiction  over  Oregon  in  1848.  He 
led  the  laity  of  Methodism  in  all  good  works  for 
many  years;  and  was  the  first  lay  delegate  to  the 
General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  from  the  Pacific  Coast.  When  he  died, 
not  only  did  the  church  here  feel  the  shock  of  a 
great  loss,  but  the  entire  State  of  which  he  had 
been  one  of  the  most  influential  and  discreet  foun- 
ders, paid  its  tribute  of  praise  and  gratitude  at  his 
tomb.  With  him  as  a  brother  beloved,  Mr.  Fletch- 
er sustained  a  most  intimate  relation,  and  without 
doubt  drew  from  his  richly  stored  mind  and  ripe 
Christian  experience  much  that  was  helpful  to  his 
own  life  and  work.  To  have  held  such  relations  to 
such  a  man  for  so  long  a  time  was  surely  pledge 
enough  of  the  personal  character  and  religious 
worth  of  Mr.  Fletcher. 

For  nine  years  Mr.  Fletcher  had  served  the 
church  in  the  relations  which  have  been  traced  in 
the  preceedlng  pages.  At  the  close  of  the  ninth 
year  he  was  granted  a  leave  of  absence  for  four 
weeks,  for  a  visit  to  California.  When  this  was 


102  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

done  he  makes  in  the  journal  the  following  remark- 
able statement  regarding  these  years: 

"I  have  never  been  absent  from  my  class  for  one  meet- 
ing since  I  came  to  this  Church,  nor  from  any  of  the  church 
services.  Since  I  became  its  sexton  in  1868  to  the  present 
time,  I  have  been  enabled  by  the  blessing  of  God  to  attend 
to  all  my  various  duties,  having  the  best  of  health,  and 
above  all,  the  favor  of  God  in  my  work.  I  believe  that  the 
Lord  has  appointed  me  to  this  work.  When  I  took  charge 
of  the  church  as  its  sexton,  I  felt  fully  convinced  in  my 
own  mind  that  this  was  the  work  which  the  Lord  had  for 
me  to  do,  and  now,  as  I  look  back,  I  can  truly  say  that  I 
was  not  disappointed.  It  may  be  my  life  work,  so  far  as  I 
know.  The  Lord's  will  not  mine  be  done.  I  want  to  be 
where  the  Lord  thinks  best." 

Such  was  the  record  Mr.  Fletcher  had  made  in 
these  nine  years,  and  such  the  spirit  he  had  borne 
through  them  all.  If  it  could  but  enter  into 
the  lives  of  all  God's  people  what  wonders 
of  redemption  would  be  wrought  in  the  world! 
God's  call  was  never  unheard.  Everything 
must  wait  for  God's  voice.  That  was  the 
only  determining  factor  of  duty.  Inclination 
was  nothing — only  God's  will.  Steadily  as 
time  moved  onward  he  moved  on  and  out  to  do 
God's  will.  And  everything  was  done  in  love. 
Strength  after  strength  was  attained  through  duty 


CRUSADERS.  103 

done.  All  strength  was  used.  He  never  frustrated 
the  grace  of  God;  never  consumed  it  on  his  own 
desires.  And  so  he  came  to  a  period  and  a  fact  in 
his  work  that  marked  the  opening  of  a  new  era  to 
him,  and  those  who  had  been  a  chief  object  of  his 
solicitude  for  many  years,  "the  men  of  the  sea." 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

WORK    WIDENING. 

Wait  cheerily,  then,  O  mariners, 

For  daylight  and  for  land; 
The  breath  of  God  is  in  your  sail, 

Your  rudder  is  His  hand. 

Sail  on,  sail  on,  deep  freighted 

With  blessings  and  with  hopes; 
The  saints  of  old  with  shadowy  hands 
Are  pulling  at  your  ropes. 

Behind  ye  holy  martyrs 

Uplift  the  palm  and  crown; 
Before  ye  unborn  ages  send 

Their  benedictions  down. 

Sail  on!    the  morning  cometh, 

The  port  ye  yet  shall  win; 
And  all  the  bells  of  God  shall  ring 

The  good  ship  bravely  in! 

— Whittier. 

~\  X  7"E  have  now  come  to  the  opening  of  a 

»    *        work  in   the  life  of   Mr.   Fletcher   for 

which,  it  seems  to  us,  all  that  preceeded  it  was  but 


WORK    WIDENING.  105 

a  preparation.  When  we  saw  him  a  sailor  on  the 
deep,  tossed  by  the  waves  and  driven  by  the  winds 
of  all  the  seas,  or  stranded  on  many  shores  of  many 
lands,  he  seemed  but  a  sailor,  destined,  in  all  sure 
probability,  to  continue  his  adventurous  voyages 
until,  in  some  stormiest  day,  he  should  earn  a 
sailors'  heroic  burial  in  the  deep  bed  of  the  sea 
with  the  unnamed  thousands  of  those,  to  all  ap- 
pearances like  him,  who  have  thus  sailed  and  thus 
sunk  into  the  unfathomed  depths.  But  they  were 
not  like  him,  though  they  thus  seemed.  God  had 
more  for  him  than  for  them  because  he  had  more 
for  God  than  they.  When  we  saw  him  a  miner, 
with  pick  and  shovel  bending  over  the  rocky  pits, 
or  digging  in  the  deep  gulches  of  the  mountains 
of  California,  or  daring  the  granite  fastnesses  of 
Idaho  for  gold,  he  seemed  only  a  miner;  likely  to 
beat  his  life  out  against  the  iron  walls  of  the  mines 
or  lose  it  out  of  sight  of  men  with  the  hundreds  of 
thousands  the  engulfing  mines  have  swallowed 
up  forever.  He  seemed  like  them — they  like  him. 
But  God  had  more  for  him  than  for  them,  because 
he  had  more  for  God  than  they.  When  we  saw  him 
in  the  ordinary  pursuits  of  a  laborer  on  the  fir-clad 
hills  of  Oregon,  or  in  the  streets  of  the  city,  he 


106  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

seemed  but  the  ordinary  laborer,  fated  to  the  weary 
round  of  daily  and  nightly  toil  for  bread,— only  for 
bread — until  that  weary  round  ended  in  an  un- 
marked grave;  where  ends  the  bootless  struggle 
of  more  than  half  of  the  human  race.  But  God  had 
more  for  him  than  for  them,  because  he  had  more 
for  God  than  they.  That  more  was  a  purpose;  a 
looking  forward,  a  making  the  most  and  the  best 
of  to-day  as  all  he  had,  remembering  that  to-mor- 
row was  God's,  and  that  he  could  only  be  ready 
for  God's  to-morrow  by  rightly  using  his  own  to- 
day. Thus  he  made  the  sailor's  voyages  and  the 
miner's  toil  preparations  for  the  greater,  higher  to- 
morrows that  followed  on  his  lower  yesterdays. 

The  era  in  his  life  to  which  Mr.  Fletcher  had 
been  thus  conducted  by  God's  gracious  providence 
he  had,  in  a  divine  way,  foreseen  and  expected,  and 
had  been  doing  much  to  create.  It  was  the  for- 
mal and  public  inauguration  of  Christian  work 
among  "the  men  of  the  sea,"  who,  in  the  courses  of 
trade  or  the  pursuits  of  adventure,  were  finding 
their  way  into  the  ports  of  Oregon,  and  especially 
into  Portland,  in  great  numbers.  Our  story  of  his 
life  has  repeatedly  mentioned  his  personal  atten- 
tion to  them  and  his  earnest  solicitation  for  their 


WORK    WIDENING.  107 

salvation.  These  seemed,  as  we  recorded  them, 
but  casual  incidents,  quite  aside  from  the  main  pur- 
pose and  interest  of  his  life,  while,  in  reality,  they 
were  chief  factors  in  the  make-up  of  that  life.  He 
was  marking  out  the  most  important  and  far- 
reaching  labors  of  his  whole  history.  The  people 
of  Portland,  among  whom  he  had  gone  so  long, 
and  to  whom  he  was  so  well  known,  did  not  un- 
derstand that  his  quiet  and  unostentations  visits 
to  the  wharves  and  the  decks  of  the  vessels  lying 
at  them;  to  the  sailor's  boarding  houses,  and  to 
all  the  resorts  where  the  sailor  boys  were  enticed 
to  their  ruin,  with  his  bundles  of  tracts  in  his  hands, 
which  he  distributed  as  leaves  of  the  tree  of  life  to 
all,  were  putting  in  action  a  train  of  influences  that 
meant  a  world-wide  evangelization  and  would 
make  Mr.  Fletcher  himself  one  of  the  most  widely 
known  of  the  religious  workers  of  the  coast.  But 
so  it  was.  It  was,  as  ever,  God  taking  care  of  His 
own,  and  taking  pains  that  His  watchmen  did  not 
wake  in  vain. 

It  is  probable  that  the  modern  church  has  not 
begun  to  appreciate  the  evangelistic  value  of  such 
work  among  the  sailors;  even  if  she  has  appre- 
ciated the  sailor  himself  as  a  man.  A  converted 


108  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

sailor  is  a  world-going  missionary.  No  pent-up 
village  or  narrow  country  neighborhood  confines 
his  influence.  From  port  to  port,  from  country  to 
country,  from  capital  to  capital,  he  is  borne  by  the 
free  winds  of  the  sea.  He  knows  all  continents  and 
all  islands.  He  is  a  citizen  of  the  world.  He  be- 
longs to  the  demorcracy  of  humanity.  He  is  God's 
free  evangel;  heaven's  roving  messenger  of  truth 
and  love  to  every  land  and  every  clime.  Thus  the 
winds  waft  His  story.  Thus  the  waters  roll  it. 
Every  ship  that  bears  him  becomes  "the  old  ship 
of  Zion,''  freighted  with  salvation  and  sailing  to 
all  ports.  "The  breath  of  God  is  in  her  sails,  her 
rudder  is  His  hands,"  as  she  sails  on  freighted  with 
hope  and  salvation  for  the  world. 

Portland  had  grown  to  be  such  a  seaport  and  to 
command  such  a  commerce  with  foreign  nations 
as  awakened  its  great  Christian  merchants  to  the 
need  of  organizing  a  Bethel  Home"  and  a  "Mar- 
iner's Church"  for  the  benefit  of  the  hundreds  of 
sea-faring  men  constantly  in  the  city.  According- 
ly, on  November  4th,  1877,  union  services,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  leading  churches  of  the  city, 
were  held  in  Taylor  Street  M.  E.  Church,  for  the 
purpose  of  making  such  an  organization.  Rev.  R. 


WORK    WIDENING.  109 

S.  Stubbs,  a  very  able  and  devoted  as  well  as  ex- 
perienced minister,  had  been  appointed  by  "The 
American  Seaman's  Friend  Society,"  of  New  York, 
Chaplain  for  the  port  of  Portland.  Mr.  Stubbs  was 
present,  and  his  evident  adaptation  to  so  great  .1 
work  stirred  the  people  to  enthusiasm.  Mr.  Stubbs 
had  been  a  sailor  for  many  years,  and  had  risen  to 
the  command  of  vessels,  and,  of  course,  under- 
stood the  needs  of  sailors,  and  well  knew  how  to 
provide  for  their  supply.  The  meeting  completed 
plans  for  work,  raised  over  $5,000  for  its  com- 
mencement, and  had  assurances  from  the  best 
sources  of  further  aid  as  it  would  be  required  in  the 
progress  of  the  work.  These  facts  greatly  encour- 
aged Mr.  Fletcher  in  the  hope  that  his  ruling  de- 
sire would  have  a  larger  fulfillment  in  the  salvation 
of  his  beloved  "men  of  the  sea." 

At  this  time  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  pulpit 
orators  of  his  day,  Doctor  Guard,  visited  Portland, 
delivering  two  lectures  and  one  sermon.  They 
were  greatly  appreciated  by  all,  and  especially  by 
Mr.  Fletcher.  By  a  happy  incident  he  introduced 
a  friend  of  his,  Mr.  John  Wilson,  a  leading  mer- 
chant of  the  city  to  the  Doctor,  who  immediately 
recognized  him  as  one  of  the  teachers  of  his  early 


110  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

boyhood,  and  greeted  him  with  most  loving  re- 
membrances. 

Under  date  of  January  1st,  1879,  Mr.  Fletcher 
writes: — 

"There  Is  a  most,  remarkable  work  of  grace  now  going 
on  among  the  seamen  in  this  port.  Chaplain  Stubbs  is 
working  faithfully  on  board  the  ships  in  port.  My  wife 
and  myself  have  attended  many  of  the  night  meetings  on 
some  of  the  ships  during  the  last  five  weeks.  I  have  not 
seen  such  a  revival  since  I  came  to  Portland  as  is  now  go- 
ing on  among  the  seamen.  I  think  there  must  have  been 
about  forty  seamen  converted  up  to  the  present  time.  Truly, 
the  little  leaven  that  has  been  working  for  the  last  few 
years  is  now  showing  its  power.  I  hope  it  will  not  stop 
until  the  crew  of  every  ship  in  port  shall  be  leavened  of 
righteousness." 

With  the  added  work  that  came  to  Mr.  Fletcher 
in  the  organization  of  the  Seaman's  Friend  Society 
in  Portland,  there  was  little  diminution  of  his  work 
in  the  church  itself  as  janitor  and  class  leader.  At 
the  same  time  his  reading  and  studying  of  the  best 
class  of  Christian  works  increased.  His  journal 
often  speaks  of  them  with  most  appreciative  lan- 
guage, especially  of  such  as  touched  the  practical 
and  experimental  sides  of  Christian  life.  For  those 
that  had  tendencies  opposite  to  the  purest  and 


WORK    WIDENING.  Ill 

highest  experience  he  had  no  place.  One,  for 
which  he  had  paid  three  dollars,  under  a  mistaken 
idea  of  its  character,  he  consigned  to  the  flames, 
"so  that  it  could  do  no  harm."  Still  providence 
seemed  directing  him  toward  a  wider  opportunity 
for  usefulness  to  his  beloved  "sailor  boys,"  as  the 
very  best  field  for  the  use  of  his  mature  Christian 
powers  and  experience.  Making  up  his  mind  after 
mature  deliberation  and  prayer  that  the  Lord  had 
other  work  for  him  to  do,  in  August1,  1879,  he  re- 
signed his  place  as  janitor  of  Taylor  Street  Church. 
Of  so  much  public  interest  was  the  event  that  the 
Pacific  Christian  Advocate,  whose  editor,  Rev. 
Dr.  Dillon,  was  at  that  time  serving  as  pastor  of 
the  church  Mr.  Fletcher  had  so  long  served,  gave 
this  appreciative  notice  of  it:  - 

"Brother  Fletcher  has  been  a  fixture  in  the  janitorship  of 
Taylor-street  church  for  ten  years.  If  ever  faithful  and  de- 
voted labor  was  cheerfully  and  well  performed  it  has  been 
done  by  him;  for  all  these  years  promptly  at  the  time,  with- 
out a  failure,  he  has  rung  the  bell  for  all  the  gatherings 
of  the  church,  has  had  the  church  ready  for  occupancy, 
dusted,  cleaned,  ventilated  and  warmed:  often  in  very  cold 
weather  sleeping  at  the  church  Saturday  nights  so  as  to 
start  the  fires  in  the  furnace  very  early  in  the  morning. 
Not  only  this,  during  all  this  time  he  has  been  present 
every  Sunday  morning  at  the  9  o'clock  class  of  which  he 


112  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

is  leader.  But  he  is  gone,  and  we  fear  "we  ne'er  shall  see 
his  like  again."  We  are  only  too  glad  to  hare  him  with  us 
yet  in  his  pew,  and  in  the  class  and  prayer  meeting,  where 
he  will  still  be  found  upon  every  opportunity  that  he  can 
avail  himself  of." 

These  words  of  his  pastor  were  but  an  indication 
of  the  place  Mr.  Fletcher  had  won  in  the  hearts  of 
all  the  church  and  congregation,  the  largest  in 
Portland.  The  care  and  punct'uality  with  which  he 
had  attended  to  his  duties  in  Taylor  Street  Church 
for  so  many  years  had  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  directors  of  the  Portland  High  School,  and 
they  sought  his  services  in  the  like  office  in  that  in- 
stitution. He  accepted  their  proposition,  as  of  the 
Lord.  His  work  threw  him  into  close  association 
with  hundreds  of  young  people,  and  a  very  culti- 
vated body  of  teachers,  with  all  of  whom  he  soon 
became  a  favorite.  His  genial  disposition,  quiet 
and  obliging  manner,  and  his  careful  consideration 
of  the  comfort  of  all  and  the  happiness  of  each  not 
only  secured  their  confidence  but  won  their  affec- 
tion, and  he  held  their  full  esteem  for  all  the  years 
that  he  served  in  that  capacity. 

With  him  one  of  the  chief  reasons  for  choosing 
this  position  was  that  it  gave  him  the  week  day 


WORK    WIDENING.  113 

evenings  and  all  of  the  Sabbath  to  pursue  his  work 
among  the  seamen.  More  and  more  his  heart  was 
drawn  to  this,  and  more  clearly  God's  providence 
was  opening  it  to  him.  With  him  opportunity  was 
duty,  and  a  chance  to  do  was  always  earnestly  im- 
proved. Accordingly  he  had  no  sooner  entered  his 
new  field  than  we  find  him  drawing  nearer  to  "the 
men  of  the  sea.''  Within  two  months  of  the  time 
he  began  his  work  in  the  school  he  makes  this 
characteristic  entry  in  his  journal: 

Nov.  9th— I  got  Dr.  Nelson  to  consent  to  lead  my  morn- 
ing class  for  the  next  three  mouths  so  that  I  could  have 
more  time  for  work  among  the  sailors  on  Sabbath  morning. 
I  visited  four  ships  this  morning,  and  distributed  one  hun- 
dred pages  of  tracts  among  the  men  forward.  I  also  got 
five  of  the  men  to  accompany  me  to  church.  O.  may  the 
Lord  bless  my  work  among  these  men  of  the  sea. 

Nov.  16— Sabbath  morning.  I  had  a  good  time  in  my 
visiting  the  ships,  giving  the  tracts  to  the  men,  and  In 
ppeakiug  to  them  of  Jesus,  who  is  always  the  sailor's 
friend.  I  told  them  his  very  first  disciples  were  sailors, 
and  that  of  all  men  sailors  should  be  first  to  serve  him. 
As  I  had  spoken  to  the  crew  of  one  of  the  ships  somewhat 
freely,  I  asked  them  how  many  of  them  would  come  with 
me  to  the  church  that  morning  to  hear  His  word  preached 
for  themselves.  Five  of  them  came  with  me. 

Nov.  23.— Only  time  to  visit  one  ship  this  morning.  After 
speaking  to  the  men  forward  and  distributing  some  tracts. 


114  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

I  went  aft  and  spoke  to  the  officers,  gave  them  some  tracts, 
and  got  the  first  and  second  officers  to  accompany  me  to 
the  church. 

This  character  of  hand  to  hand  and  heart  to 
heart  work  was  pursued  by  Mr.  Fletcher  with  the 
faithfulness  and  zeal  of  an  apostle.  Nearly  every 
Sabbath  morning  he  would  be  seen  coming  into 
Taylor  Street  Church  with  a  company  of  "sailor 
boys"  dressed  in  the  garb  of  the  sea,  conducting 
them  to  eligible  seats,  sitting  with  them,  watching 
intently  the  effect  of  the  word  upon  them,  ready  to 
take  advantage  of  all  influences  and  impressions 
to  lead  them  to  Jesus. 

In  closing  up  his  record  for  the  year  1879  he 
gives — 

A     VISION     OF     THE     BIBLE. 
By    a    Seafaring    Man. 

"As  I  lay  musing  a  vision  passed  before  me  of  a  noble 
ship.  She  was  built  in  New  Jerusalem,  and  her  builder 
and  maker  was  God.  Her  timbers  were  of  the  strong  oaks 
of  Zion,  her  masts  of  the  tree  of  Calvary,  and  her  rigging 
of  the  cords  of  love.  Her  sails  were  the  doctrines  of  sal- 
vation, her  cable  a  three-fold  cord  of  faith,  hope  and  char- 
ity, which  could  not  be  easily  broken.  Her  helm  glittered 
like  the  star  of  prophecy,  her  anchor  was  of  gold  from  Im- 
manuel's  Land;  her  crest  was  the  emblem  of  righteousness 


WORK    WIDENING.  115 

and  her  name  was  "The  Word  of  God."  From  stem  to 
stern,  from  keel  to  deck  she  was  a  goodly  ship.  Her  deck 
was  a  broad  platform  on  which  Christians  of  all  denomina- 
tions might  stand.  Her  guns  thundered  forth  the  terrors  of 
the  law,  but  her  mission  was  emphatically  peace.  Her 
weapons  were  not  carnal  but  mighty  through  God  to  the 
pulling  down  of  strongholds.  Her  painting  was  beauty; 
she  was  streaked  with  light  and  sprinkled  with  blood.  Her 
crew  were  the  Apostles  and  Prophets,  her  passengers  true 
believers,  her  captain  the  Prince  of  Peace.  Her  cargo  was 
Truth,  and  her  broad  Danner  bore  the  inscription  "Glory 
to  God  in  the  Highest:  Peace  on  earth,  good  will  to  men." 
She  was  sailing  over  a  tempestuous  sea.  The  billows  of 
error  drove  furiouly  against  her  bows,  but  her  bulwarks 
were  impregnable.  She  sailed  from  the  port  of  heaven  and 
her  destination  was  to  all  the  habitable  parts  of  the  earth, 
and  her  mission  to  the  ends  of  it.  The  nations  hailed  her 
approach  with  joy.  She  scattered  blessings  in  her  course, 
and  returned  homeward  bound  freighted  with  living  souls 
and  cast  her  anchor  in  the  haven  of  life  under  the  throne 
of  God  and  of  the  Lamb." 

With  this  "vision"  Mr.  Fletcher  closes  his  record 
of  the  year  1879.  During  it  his  words  and  his  life 
among  the  seamen  had  brought  help  and  encour- 
agement to  many  a  burdened  heart,  and  hope  to 
many  a  despairing  breast.  His  cheerful  presence, 
his  light-like  smile  always  stirred  to  better 
thoughts  and  higher  ambitions  all  those  with 


116  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

whom  he  mingled,  and  the  memory  of  them  sailed 
in  the  minds  of  hundreds  of  sailors  on  every  sea. 
Whenever  the  sailor's  thoughts  would  turn  toward 
Portland,  "Father  Fletcher,"  was  in  his  mind's  eye; 
and  to  very  many  of  them  already  it  was  his  tender 
countenance,  his  vigilant  guardianship,  his  Chris- 
tian counsel  awaiting  him  on  the  Portland  docks 
that  constituted  the  strongest  desire  to  again  re- 
turn to  rest  for  a  little  on  the  peaceful  bosom  of 
the  Oregon  port. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

BROADENING  LIFE. 

Through  seas  more  vast  than  these  of  earth, 

Blown  straight  by  heavenly  wind, 
They  sail  with  freight  of  precious  worth, 

These  merchantmen  of  mind. 

In  alien  zones,  through  sun  and  cloud, 

With  varied  cargoes  fraught, 
What  intercourse  and  traffic  crowd 

The  argosies  of  thought. 

O,  happy  they  who  walk  the  strand 

Whereon  those  billows  roll, 
Whose  ports,  by  right  divine,  command 

The  commerce  of  the  soul." 

—Clarence  Urmy. 

|^  ROM  the  closing  date  of  the  last  chapter  for 
•*•  five  years  Mr.  Fletcher  continued  the  iden- 
tical character  of  work  described  there.  He  had 
charge  of  one  of  the  most  important  classes  of  Tay- 
lor Street  Church,  and  led  its  members  forward  in 
the  cultivation  of  the  graces  of  the  spirit  with  the 


118  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

same  care  and  success  as  attended  his  work  among 
the  seamen.  Members  committeed  to  his  care  by 
the  successive  pastors  of  the  church  under  whom 
he  served,  were  never  neglected  or  forgotten,  and 
very  few,  if,  indeed,  any  of  those  put  under  his 
guidance  ever  strayed  from  the  ways  of  well  doing. 
"By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them,"  is  an  eternal 
principle  of  judgment  as  to  character  and  life. 
Judged  by  this  test  Mr.  Fletcher's  life  had  rare  per- 
fection. Its  influence  over  others  was  always,  even 
uniquely,  pure.  It  had  in  it  a  living  principle  or 
germ  of  growth,  and  so  it  spread  its  fructifying 
sap  through  every  fibre  and  vesicle  of  the  souls  it 
touched.  Souls  born  into  the  Kingdom  by  his 
fatherhood  carried  a  vigorous  life  in  them  from  the 
very  hour  of  their  birth.  Parenthood  germinally 
conditions  sonship,  spiritually  as  well  as  physically. 
To  be  well  begotten  and  well  bred  is  to  inherit 
character  and  quality  and  power.  "Blood  will 
tell."  By  the  application  of  these  principles  to  the 
life  of  converts  the  character  of  those  by  whom 
they  were  begotten  in  the  Gospel  is  clearly  defined. 
In  the  case  of  those  among  whom  Mr.  Fletcher's 
work  was  mostly  done  during  this  time  there  was 
need  of  a  vigorous  inborn  life  to  carry  them 


BROADENING    LIFE.  119 

through  the  comparatively  stormy  conditions  of 
their  early  Christian  life.  Out  on  the  wild  seas,  al- 
most before  they  have  lived  a  single  day  in  the 
consciousness  of  their  new  life  of  faith,  visiting 
distant  ports,  surrounded  by  rollicking,  roaring 
mobs  of  sin-intoxicated  men;  mocked  at,  ridiculed, 
opposed — if  the  life  in  them  was  not  strong  and 
forceful  at  the  very  beginning  it  were  no  great 
wonder  if  they  did  not  endure.  For  these  and 
other  reasons  which  will  appear  hereafter,  we  see 
the  uniqueness  of  the  work  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  as  well 
as  the  exalted  qualities  of  the  spiritual  nature  that 
he  put  into  it.  He  so  impressed  himself  and  his 
own  spiritual  life  upon  those  with  whom  and  for 
whom  he  labored  that,  as  a  presence  invisible  to 
others,  and  yet  visible  to  them,  he  walked  the 
streets  of  the  city,  rode  on  the  waves  of  the  sea, 
sat  in  the  pews  in  the  church,  joined  in  the  songs 
of  the  sanctuary  with  those  children  of  his  beget- 
ting and  love  wherever  they  were.  In  this  respect, 
in  a  finite  way  and  with  a  few,  he  was  with  them 
to  the  end  of  the  world,  as  Christ  in  an  infinite 
way,  and  with  all  that  knew  him,  pledged  that  he 
would  be  "always." 

It  is  in  this  way  that  good  lives  are  perpetuated; 


120  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

given  an  immortality  outside  of  themselves.  One 
said  "the  evil  that  men  do  lives  after  them,  but  the 
good  is  often  interred  with  their  bones.''  This  say- 
ing can  hardly  be  accepted  in  its  broadest  sense. 
It  is  because  good  once  done  does  not  die,  but 
"lives"  after  he  who  did  it  has  gone  back  to  dust, 
that  good  makes  any  gain  over  evil.  "The  eternal 
years  of  God"  belong  to  good  and  truth,  while 
"the  death  that  never  dies"  is  the  doom  of  evil  and 
falsehood.  This  is  the  vital  motive  to  goodness  of 
action  and  purity  of  life.  "The  righteous  shall  be 
in  everlasting  remembrance,  but  the  memory  of 
the  wicked  shall  rot."  So  the  memory  of  this 
friend  and  servant  of  the  humblest  occupant  of  the 
forecastle  on  the  poorest  ship  that  came  to  the 
port  where  he  labored  so  long  and  faithfully  will  be 
green  with  verdure  of  immortality  when  the  very 
name  of  the  proudest  captain  that  ever  sailed  the 
seas,  whose  life  was  evil  and  wicked,  shall  rot  out 
of  all  mention  by  men  or  angels.  God  keeps  the 
records  of  the  book  of  lives,  and  He  never  forgets. 
"Father  Taylor"  once  described  the  career  of  a 
young  man  who  came  from  the  country  to  the  city, 
who  fell  into  one  temptation  after  another  till  he 
became  a  degraded  castaway.  When  he  seemed 


BROADENING    LIPB.  121 

to  have  reached  the  lowest  depth  of  horror,  Father 
Taylor,  with  a  look  and  tone  that  chilled  the  very 
marrow  of  the  bones  of  those  that  heard  him, 
cried:  "Hush!  Shut  the  windows  of  Heaven. 
He's  cursing  his  mother!"  He  would,  if  possible, 
keep  the  horrid  degradation  of  this  boy,  who  had 
thus  desecrated  the  holiest  name  on  earth  and  thus 
defiled  himself,  from  the  eye  of  the  recording  angel. 
So  goodness  does  not  seek  to  perpetuate  the  mem- 
ory of  wickedness,  but  rather  to  blot  it  out.  But 
it  does  seek  to  perpetuate,  to  keep  alive,  the  re- 
membrances of  the  righteous. 

In  connection  with  his  work  among  the  seamen 
and  also  in  the  church  during  the  five  years  from 
1879  to  the  opening  of  1886,  Mr.  Fletcher  contin- 
ued as  janitor  of  the  Portland  High  School,  where 
several  hundred  of  the  brightest  young  people  in 
the  city  shared  his  attentions  and  enjoyed  his 
friendship. He  won  their  confidence  and  so  they  be- 
came his  friends,  and  in  no  small  measure  their  love 
of  him  widened  all  his  subsequent  opportunity  for 
doing  good,  and  in  no  slight  degree  accounts  for 
the  very  remarkable  hold  he  secured  on  the  confi- 
dence of  the  best  citizens  of  Portland.  But  the 
time  was  nearing  for  which  providence  had  been 


122  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

preparing  him,  when  he  was  to  withdraw  from 
some  of  the  fields  in  which  he  had  wrought  so  long, 
and  devote  all  his  time  to  the  benefit  of  the  sea- 
men. 

About  the  first  of  January,  1886,  Chaplain  R.  S. 
Stubbs  was  transferred  by  the  Seaman's  Friend 
Society  from  the  charge  of  the  Bethel  work  in 
Portland  to  the  superintendence  of  the  work  of 
that  society  on  Puget  Sound.  On  his  retirement 
Mr.  Fletcher  was  left  in  charge  of  that  work  in 
Portland.  This  brought  him  to  the  conclusion  to 
which  providence  had  long  been  pointing,  that  this 
was  to  be  his  one  field  of  ultimate  toil.  Accord- 
ingly we  find  this  entry  in  his  journal  at  this  time: 

Jan.  1.— I  intend,  when  my  school  year  closes,  if  it  be  the 
Lord's  will,  to  enter  entirely  upon  the  Bethel  and  ship  work 
in  behalf  of  the  "men  of  the  sea,"  and  make  it  my  life- 
work,  and  try  to  save  these  dear  men  in  Jesus;  for  I  know 
by  sad  experience  of  my  own  how  terrible  are  their  beset- 
ments,  while  they  are  in  port. 

Jan.  3.— This  Sabbath  I  visited  the  ship  Carmarthen 
Castle  and  met  with  the  steward  who  was  converted  when 
he  was  here  eight  years  ago  in  the  ship  Robert  Lee,  and 
also  four  more  converted  men  in  the  ship  with  him.  I  had 
a  most  precious  season  with  them. 

Jan.  21.— I  was  visiting  some  of  the  ships  this  morning 
down  at  the  Mersey  docks.  The  sailors  had  just  come  on 


BROADENING    LIFE.  123 

board  half  drunk,  as  they  had  been  on  a  spree  all  night, 
and  were  quarreling  with  each  other,  as  I  was  standing  on 
the  dock  debating  in  my  mind  whether  I  should  go  on 
board  just  at  that  time  or  not,  I  asked  the  Lord  what  I 
had  best  do.  The  blessed  Holy  Spirit  applied  the  words  to 
my  heart  that  God  spoke  to  Moses:  "Now,  therefore,  go, 
and  I  will  be  with  thy  mouth,  and  teach  thee  what  thou 
shalt  say."  Exodus  iv.,  12.  I  said,  "It  is  enough.  Lord,"  and 
I  Just  stepped  aboard  and  met  the  captain  on  the  poop. 
After  shaking  hands  with  him,  he  said,  "See,  there  is  a 
specimen  of  our  British  sailors,"  pointing  to  his  men.  I 
told  him  tnat  his  men  would  be  all  right  but  for  the  cursed 
whiskey  that  was  in  them;  that  that  was  the  cause  of  all 
the  trouble  with  his  men.  I  told  him  that  I  would  just  step 
down  into  the  waist  of  the  ship  and  see  what  I  could  do  to 
break  up  the  row  among  them.  He  said:  "You  had  better 
not  go  among  them,"  but  I  said:  "I  have  no  fears  at  all"; 
so  I  stepped  down  to  where  they  were  wrangling.  As  one 
of  them  saw  me  coming  towards  them  he  came  to  meet  me. 
I  took  him  by  the  hand  and  said  to  him:  i  am  sorry  to  see 
you  men  at  loggerheads  this  morning.  But  I  can  sympa- 
thize with  you  for  I  have  been  in  the  same  way  more  than 
once  myself,  and  I  know  just  how  you  feel."  Just  then 
another  of  them  came  to  hear  what  I  was  saying,  another 
one  went  and  spoke  to  another,  and  one  or  two  went  for- 
ward, so  the  whole  thing  broke  up,  and  there  was  no  fight. 
I  then  went  forward  and  said:  "Men,  I  am  sorry  to  see 
you  in  the  way  you  are  this  morning,  but  I  am  thankful 
you  are  not  in  the  lock-up,  but  on  board  of  your  own  ship." 
I  talked  a  little  while  with  them,  gave  them  some  roading 
and  left  them.  I  then  went  aft  and  said  to  the  captain. 


124  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

"Blessed  are  the  peacemakers."  "Well,"  said  he,  "you  had 
more  courage  than  I  have  to  go  down  among  those  fel- 
lows in  the  condition  they  were  in."  I  then  left  him  and 
went  on  board  the  ship  Dovenby,  and  had  a  very  profitable 
conversation  with  Captain  Steele  and  his  wife.  So  ended 
my  morning's  work  on  the  ships." 

Thus,  Sunday  by  Sunday,  year  following  year, 
did  Mr.  Fletcher  find  his  way  from  deck  to  deck 
with  his  messages  of  "peace"  and  his  invitations  to 
Christ  to  officer  and  sailor  alike.  Sincerely  hum- 
ble, yet  never  shrinking  from  duty,  full  of  a  calm 
courage,  yet  never  boasting  of  his  bravery,  this 
man  of  God  constantly  went  forth  to  serve  God  by 
helping  and  saving  lost  humanity.  Is  there  any 
other  way  of  serving  Him? 

In  April  of  this  year  Mr.  Fletcher  was  put  in 
charge  of  the  Bethel  work  by  the  Portland  Sea- 
man's Friend  Society,  at  its  annual  meeting.  Since 
the  removal  of  Chaplain  Stubbs  there  had  been  no 
preaching  in  the  Bethel,  and  Mr.  Fletcher  entered 
upon  that  field  under  discouraging  conditions.  In 
his  usual  way,  however,  he  gave  himself  into  God's 
hands  for  guidance  and  help  in  the  broader  field 
into  which  His  providence  had  brought  him,  seek- 
ing the  "Blessed  Spirit's"  aid  in  all  he  did.  It 
seemed  a  propitious  fact  that  this  enlarged  respon- 


BROADENING    LIFE.  125 

sibility  came  to  him  when  he  was  amidst  the  ten- 
der memories  attending  the  26th  anniversary  of  his 
own  conversion,  and  the  19th  anniversary  of  his 
experience  of  perfect  love.  It  is  not  strange  that 
he  says,  in  referring  to  this  fact,  as  Isaiah  said  so 
long  before  him,  "O  Lord,  I  will  praise  Thee,  for 
though  thou  wast  angry  with  me,  thine  anger  is 
turned  away  and  thou  comfortest  me.  Behold, 
God  is  my  salvation,  I  will  trust  and  not  be  afraid, 
for  the  Lord  Jehovah  is  my  strength  and  my  song; 
He  also  is  become  my  salvation." 

With  this  evident  call  to  the  consecration  of  all 
his  time  and  powers  to  the  work  of  the  seamen 
came  the  necessary  duty  of  surrendering  other 
work,  which,  however  important  in  itself,  and  how- 
ever pleasant  to  him  it  might  be,  would  neverthe- 
less occupy  a  large  portion  of  his  time.  So  in  the 
early  summer  he  surrendered  his  place  in  connec- 
tion with  the  High  School  of  the  city,  and,  as  it 
will  give  the  reader  a  clear  insight  into  his  mo- 
tives of  life  and  rules  of  conduct  in  all  that  he  was 
01  did,  his  reflections  on  the  occasion  are  given. 

Under  date  of  July  1st,  1886,  he  says:— 

"I  have  resigned  my  positon  as  janitor  of  Park-street 
High  School,  which  I  have  held  for  the  last  seven  years,  to 


126  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

enter  more  fully  upon  the  Bethel  and  ship  work.  When  I 
entered  upon  my  school  work  seven  years  ago,  I  entered 
it  as  the  Lord's  work,  and  looking  back  now  I  can  truly  say 
it  was  of  the  Lord's  appointment.  I  have  been  blessed  both 
in  spiritual  and  temporal  things.  The  Lord  has  given  me 
favor  with  both  teachers  and  pupils,  and  also  with  the 
directors.  I  have  never  had  an  unkind  word  spoken  to  me 
during  these  seven  years  by  any  one  connected  with  the 
school.  I  always  kept  the  Lord  and  His  work  before  me, 
and  as  I  went  in  and  out  before  them  from  day  to  day,  I 
tried  to  set  before  them  the  example  of  a  godly  life  both 
by  my  walk  and  conversation.  O,  I  have  enjoyed  so  many 
precious  prayers  for  my  teachers  and  pupils.  I  always  felt 
it  was  the  Lord's  work  I  was  doing,  and  now,  as  I  give  up 
my  stewardship  to  Him  who  gave  it  to  me,  I  ask  Him  to 
bless  the  seed  that  I  have  tried  to  sow  in  the  hearts  of 
these  dear  teachers  and  children  during  my  seven  years 
work  with  them. 

"When  I  entered  my  school  work,  I  received  a  salary  of 
fifty-five  dollars  a  month.  The  second  year  they  gave  me 
sixty,  the  third  year  seventy,  and  after  that  seventy-five 
dollars,  so  I  can  say  the  Lord  has  greatly  blessed  me  in  the 
labor  of  my  hands.  It  seemed  a  great  grief  to  the  teach- 
ers and  children  that  I  should  leave  them. 

"I  had  been  enabled  to  build  me  a  new  two-story  house  on 
my  lot  on  which  I  live,  costing  me  $2,400,  and  is  now  bring- 
ing me  $36  per  month  rent,  and  have  left  a  balance  of  $800 
in  my  bank  account  up  to  date.  I  can  surely  say  that 
"goodness  and  mercy  have  followed  me  all  the  days  of  my 
life.'  The  Lord  has  brought  me  now  to  the  place  T  have 
been  working  up  to,  so  that  I  could  give  myself  entirely  to 
the  work  of  the  Bethel  and  the  ships." 


BROADENING    LIFE.  127 

In  this  extract  the  reader  will  be  able  to  see 
some  of  the  elements  of  character  that  made  the 
life  of  Mr.  Fletcher  such  an  eminently  useful  one 
in  the  sphere  in  which  he  moved.  Stability  of 
purpose,  patient  industry,  unswerving' fidelity,  de- 
voted piety,  wrought  out  in  the  life  of  this  once 
careless  and  godless  sailor  boy  such  a  history  of 
good  deeds  and  noble  works  as  really  few  have  ever 
had  recorded  to  their  credit  in  the  book  of  destiny. 
Feeling  the  call  of  God  within  him  to  devote  him- 
self to  the  benefit  of  that  class  of  men  amongst 
whom  his  own  early  life  had  been  cast,  he  followed 
the  openings  God's  providence  made  with  the  care- 
fulness of  a  hunter  on  the  track  of  game,  never 
losing  his  purpose  and  never  relaxing  his  effort  un- 
til now  he  sees  the  desire  of  his  heart  accomplished 
and  he  is  ready  to  fully  enter  into  the  call  of  his 
gracious  Lord.  If  his  erstwhile  companions  before 
the  mast  will  carefully  study  this  life  and  imitate  it 
in  the  measure  of  their  opportunity,  how  many  a 
noble  man  will  spring  from  the  hard  places  of  such 
service  to  the  high  and  blessed  places  of  such 
power  for  good  as  was  his. 


CHAPTER    X. 

WORK  AMONG  SEAMEN. 

"And  men  who  work  can  only  work  for  men; 
And  not  to  work  in  vain,  must  comprehend 

Humanity,  and  work  humanely, 
And  raise  men's  bodies  still  by  raising  souls 

As  God  did  first." 

|  "3  ELIEVED  now  from  the  burden  of  his 
-*-  V.  school  work,  Mr.  Fletcher  was  at  liberty 
to  devote  himself  to  his  work  in  the  Bethel  service. 
He  had  hoped  that  a  chaplain  who  was  a  minister 
would  have  arrived  before  he  entered  fully  upon 
it,  but  as  his  coming  was  delayed  and  the  demand 
was  so  urgent,  and  so  many  sailors  seemed  waiting 
for  some  one  to  guide  them  in  the  right  way,  that 
he  could  but  enter  the  open  door  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord.  So  on  the  evening  of  Sabbath,  July 
4th,  he  began  "Gospel  meetings"  in  the  chapel  of 
the  Mariner's  Home.  A  large  congregation  was 


WORK    AMONG    SEAMEN.  129 

present,  and  one  sailor  was  converted.  On  the  fol- 
lowing Sabbath  night  another  large  congregation 
met  him  again  at  the  same  place,  and  two  were 
converted  to  God.  During  the  week  he  followed 
this  result  up  by  visitations  and  prayer  with  the 
sailors  in  their  rooms,  and  on  the  following  Sunday 
evening  his  faithfulness  was  rewarded  with  two 
more  conversions.  The  same  character  of  work 
with  the  same  result  of  weekly  conversions  contin- 
ued for  many  weeks.  It  is  not  likely  that  any  pop- 
ular pulpit  in  Portland  gathered  such  a  harvest  of 
souls  for  the  Master  during  this  summer  month  of 
July  as  did  this  worker  among  the  sailors  in  the 
"Mariner's  Home." 

On  the  22d  of  August  Mr.  Fletcher  records  a  ser- 
vice held  for  him  by  Rev.  T.  L.  Sails,  at  that  time  a 
very  evangelical  and  successful  minister  in  the  Ore- 
gon Conference  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  Mr.  Sails 
had  been  a  sailor,  and  reached  Portland  some  years 
before  as  such,  "having  no  hope  and  without  God 
in  the  world."  He  chanced  to  fall  into  Taylor 
Street  Church  one  evening  when  revival  services 
were  being  conducted  by  its  pastor,  Rev.  G.  W. 
Izer,  and  was  led  to  seek  God  at  its  altar.  It  was 
not  long  before  he  was  converted,  and  soon  after 


130  WILLIAM  s.  FLETCHER. 

his  natural  gifts  of  speech  and  his  evident  consecra- 
tion commended  him  to  the  church  as  called  of 
God  to  the  Gospel  ministry.  He  was  licensed  as  a 
preacher,  and  entering  the  ministry  of  Oregon,  for 
about  ten  years  he  fulfilled  it  with  a  fervency  and 
zeal  that  gave  promise  of  far  more  than  average 
usfulness  and  success  in  his  calling.  When  in  the 
culminating  vigor  of  his  work  he  sickened  and 
died,  having  vindicated  his  Christian  character  by 
the  authority  of  a  spotless  life  and  most  heroic 
ministerial  service.  Having  been  a  sailor  in  his 
youth,  and  being  skilled  in  the  vocabulary  of  the 
seas,  and  with  a  warm,  sympathetic  heart,  and 
genial  and  bounding  spirits,  he  was  admirably 
adapted  to  the  work  among  the  seamen.  Many 
thought,  and  among  them  Mr.  Fletcher,  that  he 
should  enter  that  work. 

His  visit  at  this  time  to  the  Bethel  was  a  marked 
event.  He  was  among  his  brethren  of  the  sea. 
He  knew  a  sailor's  heart.  He  understood  their 
temptations.  He  sympathized  with  their  weak- 
nesses. He  pitied  like  the  Master.  And  having 
traveled  the  way  himself,  he  knew  well  how  to 
guide  a  repentant  sailor's  soul  to  God.  "Brother 
Sails  was  perfectly  at  home  among  my  sailors,  and 


WORK    AMONG    SEAMEN.  131 

let  himself  out,"  writes  Mr.  Fletcher.  "He  had 
great  freedom  in  speaking  and  was  assisted  by  the 
blessed  Holy  Spirit  himself,  which  carried  the 
truth  home  to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  all 
these  wanderers  from  God.  We  had  a  glorious 
meeting.  He  spoke  on  the  "Prodigal  Son,"  of 
which  there  were  many  present.'' 

From  July  to  about  the  first  of  September  Mr. 
Fletcher  had  full  charge  of  the  Bethel  work  in 
Portland.  At  this  latter  date  Rev.  Mr.  Gilpin,  of 
England,  arrived  as  Chaplain.  The  period  during 
which  Mr.  Fletcher  had  charge  of  the  work  in  the 
Bethel  was  marked  by  more  conversions  and  a 
deeper  spirituality  than  any  other  of  its  history. 
During  the  five  months,  besides  his  three  weekly 
public  services  in  the  chapel,  and  his  visits  to  and 
care  over  the  sailors  when  they  were  on  land,  he 
made  148  visits  to  ships  in  port  and  conversed  with 
their  officers  and  crews,  distributed  6000  pages  of 
tracts  and  other  reading  matter.  He  also  visited 
a  large  number  of  families  in  the  interests  of  his 
Bethel  work.  Twenty-eight  sailors  were  convert- 
ed and  he  gave  fourteen  Bibles  to  those  converted 
who  had  none.  This  is  a  record  of  work  and  suc- 
cess of  which  any  pastor  might  well  be  proud. 


1S2  WILIAM   S.   FLETCHER. 

Mr.  Fletcher,  in  his  usual  grateful  way,  gives  "all 
the  praise  and  glory  of  this  blessed  work  to  the 
Holy  Spirit,"  who  so  obviously  attended  and  sanc- 
tified all  his  services.  And  yet  the  human  basis  of 
it  all  was  in  Mr.  Fletcher's  own  adaptation  to  the 
work  in  which  he  was  engaged.  His  naturally 
broad  humanness,  his  plain,  unstudied  common 
sense,  his  kindly  interest  in  every  one  that  needed 
help,  his  calm  fearlessness,  coupled  with  a  real  hu- 
mility, were  the  constitutional  personal  elements 
that  adapted  him  to  his  work.  Then  there  was  an- 
other fact,  well  stated  by  himself  in  his  journal, 
when  accounting  for  the  failure  of  a  chaplain,  that 
at  the  same  time  accounted  largely  for  his  own  suc- 
cess. He  says:— 

"It  takes  a  man  who  has  been  to  sea  himself,  and  has 
lived  in  a  ship's  forecastle  and  has  gone  through  its  trials 
and  hardships.  It  is  only  such  a  man  who  can  fully  enter 
Into  the  sympathies  of  these  dear  men  of  the  sea.  I  feel 
thankful  to  God  that  I  had  spent  my  younger  days  on  the 
sea,  and  had  such  an  experience  that  the  Lord  Is  now  enab- 
ling me  to  use  it  to  call  these  dear  men  of  the  sea  out  of 
darkness  Into  His  marvelous  light." 

In  the  course  of  his  visitations  to  the  large  num- 
ber of  ships  that  lay  in  the  harbor  during  the  pres- 
ent season,  Mr.  Fletcher  found  a  large  number  of 


WORK    AMONG    SEAMHN.  185 

Christian  captains,  as  well  as  many  seamen  who 
were  truly  devoted  laborers  for  the  Master.  On 
the  8th  day  of  January,  1888,  he  records  the  fact 
that  Captain  Lloyd,  of  the  bark  Dora  Ann, 
preached  at  night  at  the  Bethel  with  excellent  ef- 
fect. The  congregation  were  mostly  sailors.  It 
seemed  to  point  out  to  him  the  approach  of  the 
time  when  "the  abundance  of  the  sea  shall  be  con- 
verted to  God,"  and  the  very  ships  of  commerce 
should  become  flying  evangels  carrying  to  every 
land  the  "glad  tidings  of  great  joy"  to  all  people. 

Not  far  from  the  Mariner's  Bethel  the  Portland 
corps  of  the  Salvation  Army  had,  at  this  time,  its 
barracks.  Many  sailors  attended  these  meetings, 
and  many  of  them  were  converted.  Mr.  Fletcher 
wrought  in  harmony  with  them,  often  attending 
their  services,  giving  them  much  aid  in  their  work. 
While  he  was  receiving  encouragement  and  help 
from  them,  and  with  the  broad  Christian  charity 
that  always  distinguished  him,  extending  to  them 
all  the  encouragement  in  his  power,  Chaplain  Gil- 
pin,  who  had  charge  under  the  Seaman's  Friend 
Society,  of  the  Bethel  work  in  the  port,  took  a 
violent  stand  against  them.  This  fact  greatly  em- 
barrassed the  work  of  that  society,  and  while  Mr. 


134  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

Fletcher's  personal  influence  remained  unimpaired 
among  the  sea-going  people  of  the  port,  kept  the 
seamen  away  from  the  Bethel  services.  But  ship 
visitation  was  continued  by  him  with  equal  and 
even  increased  diligence  and  effectiveness,  and 
with  no  diminution  of  results.  A  few  extracts  from 
his  daily  record  will  show  his  faithfulness  in  this 
work,  as  it  will  also  some  of  the  results  of  the  same 
method  of  work  in  other  years. 

"Jan.  27,  1888.— I  spent  the  forenoon  iu  visiting  six  ships 
at  the  Albina  docks,  and  had  a  profitable  talk  with  the  of- 
ficers and  men,  some  of  whom  are  to  leave  on  their  way  to 
their  home  ports  today  and  tomorrow.  May  the  Lord  keep 
them  on  their  way." 

"Feb.  2.— Visited  six  ships.  I  met  one  of  the  men  of  the 
four-masted  ship  Ben  Dauran,  who  was  here  eight  years 
ago  when  we  had  a  great  revival  among  the  ships  in  port. 
He  knew  me  as  quick  as  he  saw  me,  and  we  found  that  as 
"iron  sharpeneth  iron,  so  a  man  sharpeneth  the  counten 
ance  of  his  friend."  One  of  the  men  of  the  bark  Peebles- 
shire,  who  was  converted  at  the  Salvation  Army  meetings, 
and  left  for  home  in  his  ship  this  evening,  promised  to 
write  me  on  his  arrival  there.  May  the  Lord  give  him  a 
prosperous  voyage,  and  make  him  abundantly  useful  in 
bringing  his  shipmates  to  Christ," 

"Feb.  15.— Visited  six  ships  this  afternoon  and  held  con- 
versations with  both  officers  and  men.  I  had  a  long  talk 
with  Mr.  Mortimer,  the  first  officer  of  the  ship  Cimara.  He 


WORK    AMONG    SEAMEN.  135 

is  a  good  Christian  man,  and  is  much  liked  by  his  crew. 
He  was  converted  here  in  our  ship  meetings  some  eight 
years  ago,  and  is  much  interested  in  our  Bethel  work,  but 
feel  that  we  cannot  succeed  in  it  without  a  change  in  our 
chaplain." 

"Feb.  16.— This  afternoon  I  visited  two  ships  and  had 
one  of  the  best  times  I  have  enjoyed  in  talking  to  the  first 
officer  and  carpenter  of  the  bark  Kier.  They  wanted  me  to 
give  them  an  account  of  my  conversion.  The  Holy  Spirit 
gave  me  words  to  speak  to  them,  and  I  hope  and  trust  the 
same  Holy  Spirit  carried  it  to  their  hearts  and  consciences 
to  the  saving  of  their  souls.  I  have  been  asking  the  blessed 
Holy  Spirit  for  some  time  that  he  would  teach  me  how  to 
perform  my  duty  in  the  best  possible  manner  among  my 
brethren  of  the  sea.  I  want  Him  to  fill  me  with  His  unc- 
tion, to  enable  me  to  speak  with  power  to  the  hearts  and 
consciences  of  these  sailors.  I  can  truly  say  that  he  Is 
answering  my  prayer,  for  He  is  giving  me  more  liberty  in 
speaking  and  praying  in  the  last  few  weeks  than  I  have 
ever  enjoyed  before.' 

Thus  from  day  to  clay  and  from  month  to 
month,  year  after  year,  Mr.  Fletcher  went  his  un- 
wearied way  of  good  doing,  and  thus  the  sailors 
that  went  out  of  the  port  of  Portland  over  all  seas 
and  to  all  parts  of  the  world  bore  the  memory  of 
this  good  man  in  their  hearts,  while  the  fruits  of 
his  toil  for  them  ripened  in  their  lives  of  devotion 
in  every  land. 

The  writer  does  not  intimate  that  all  this  good 


186  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

was  the  entirely  independent  result  of  Mr.  Fletch- 
er's work.  He  had  many  sympathetic  helpers; 
many  who  loved  him,  prayed  for  him,  encouraged 
him;  but  he  gathered  into  his  own  life  the  impulse 
of  their  devotion  and  friendship  and  gave  it  out 
again  to  others,  enriched,  enlarged,  sanctified,  and 
mighty  for  larger  good.  Among  those  who  oc- 
cupied this  situation  to  him  was  Dr.  Samuel  Nel- 
son. Alike  in  many  of  their  qualities,  but  unlike 
in  others,  they  were  knit  together  in  a  friendship 
and  trust  like  that  of  David  and  Jonathan.  Their 
Christian  experience  was  of  the  same  type;  deep, 
steady,  and  well  expressed  in  the  phrase,  "perfect 
love."  The  writer  has  known  few  if  any  in  all  his 
life  who  more  nearly  demonstrated  a  practical  and 
constant  fulfillment  of  the  Saviour's  summa- 
tion of  the  perfect  law  of  God:  "Thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all 
thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy  soul  and  with  all  thy 
strength  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,"  than  in  the 
lives  of  these  two  men.  Charitable,  tender-hearted, 
pure  in  thought  and  speech,  gentle  as  sanctified  wo- 
manhood, yet  stable  as  the  strongest  manhood, 
they  walked  before  the  Lord  and  before  the  world 
with  open  and  uplifted  countenances  continually. 


WORK    AMONG    SEAMEN.  187 

On  the  1st  day  of  February,  1888,  Dr.  Nelson 
was  translated.  On  the  3d  his  funeral  was  held  in 
Grace  Church,  of  which  he,  as  well  as  Mr.  Fletcher 
was  a  member.  It  would  not  be  proper  to  omit, 
in  this  record,  the  tender  reference  to  this  event, 
and  to  the  character  of  this  dear  friend  in  the  jour- 
.nal  of  Mr.  Fletcher  for  that  day: 

"I  attended  to-day  the  funeral  services  of  that  dear  old 
saint  of  God,  Dr.  Samuel  Nelson.  Dr.  H.  K.  Hines  deliv- 
ered a  most  affectionate  and  touching  tribute  to  his  mem- 
ory. My  own  heart  responded  to  every  word  he  said  of 
him,  for  I  knew  the  inner  life  of  Dr.  Nelson  better  than 
any  other  member  of  the  church.  He  was  a  lover  of  the 
doctrine  of  holiness,  and  knew  the  power  of  its  blessed  ex- 
perience as  well  as  myself.  I  first  met  the  doctor  in  1865 
at  the  Ames  Chapel  camp  meeting.  I  formed  his  friendship 
then,  and  as  the  years  went  by  our  love  for  each  other  in- 
creased. I  always  found  him  a  brother  beloved  in  the 
TvOrd." 

They  two,  with  a  number  of  others  connected 
with  the  most  practical  Christian  work  in  the  city, 
and  who  also  enjoyed  the  most  exalted  Christian 
experience,  walked  in  closest  personal  communion 
for  many  years.  Often  they  sung  what  was  but  a 
reflection  of  their  constant  sentiment  towards  each 
other: — 


138  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

"Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds 

Our  hearts  iu  Christian  love; 
The  fellowship  of  kindred  minds 

Is  like  to  that  above." 

In  reading,  the  record  of  Mr.  Fletcher's  work 
from  day  to  day  as  it  is  given  in  his  journal,  one  is 
greatly  impressed  with  his  sustained  faith  and  en-, 
thusiasm  in  it.  It  lacked  all  the  contagious  inspi- 
ration that  comes  out  of  crowded  assemblies,  vocal 
with  music  and  thrilling  with  eloquent  discourse, 
with  all  the  accessories  of  public  worship,  but  was 
simply  the  quiet,  unobserved,  hand  to  hand  strug- 
gle of  a  single  man,  full  of  faith  and  love,  with 
other  single  men  without  either  faith  or  love,  in  a 
desperate  endeavor  to  win  these  other  men  to  the 
"like  precious  faith"  and  the  like  "perfect  love" 
that  filled  his  own  heart.  No  braver,  truer  work  is 
ever  done  than  that.  The  preacher  in  the  pulpit  is 
helped  and  uplifted  by  the  magnetic  eye-flash  of 
approving  or  applauding  hearers.  He  is  in  the 
warm,  comfortable  shurch,  shut  away  from  the 
storm,  and  shut  away  from  the  sight  of  human  deg- 
radations for  the  time,  in  what,  both  in  surround- 
ings and  society,  "is  almost  heaven."  But  one  like 
Mr.  Fletcher  threads  dark  alleys  alone,  buttons  his 


WORK    AMONG    SEAMEN.  139 

plain  overcoat  about  him  to  break  off  the  cold 
blast,  walks  icy  decks,  goes  down  into  dark  fore- 
castles, looks  on  human  degradation  in  its  darkest 
deeps,  grasps  the  filthy  hand  of  the  most  fallen  sin- 
ner, listens  to  the  bacchanalian  revels  of  the 
drunken  and  profane  instead  of  the  sweet,  pure 
voices  of  the  church  orchestra,  all  to  save  those 
lost;  all  to  rescue  those  fallen.  Surely  the  Christ 
must  needs  be  incarnate  again  in  the  very  purpose 
of  His  first  incarnation  in  such  a  man  or  he  could 
not  and  would  not  do  such  work. 

During  the  month  of  March  in  this  year,  1888, 
he  records  the  visiting  of  forty-six  ships  and  con- 
versing with  officers  and  sailors,  distributing  relig- 
ious literature,  magazines,  and  current  secular  pa- 
pers, and,  in  addition,  made  four  visits  to  the  hos- 
pitals of  the  city,  and  kept  up  his  attendance  on 
his  class  and  prayer  meetings  in  the  church  of 
which  he  was  a  member. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  Mr.  Fletcher  was  labor- 
ing under  the  general  direction  of  the  "Portland 
Seaman's  Friend  Society."  On  the  second  day  of 
May  its  annual  meeting  was  held  in  the  parlors  of 
Ladd&Tilton's  bank,  and  was  presided  over  by  Mr. 
James  Steel,  a  prominent  business  man  and  a  lead- 


140  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

ing  member  of  the  First  Congregational  Church  of 
Portland,  and  one  of  the  steadfast  friends  of  the 
work  of  Mr.  Fletcher  among  the  seamen.  A  syn- 
opsis of  the  report  of  work  done  by  him  during  the 
year  just  past  will  very  clearly  indicate  its  extent 
and  value.  He  says: 

"Since  my  last  annual  report  I  have  made  408  visits  to 
ships  in  port,  and  had  many  profitable  conversations  with 
officers  and  men  and  apprentice  boys.  I  have  attended 
twenty-two  ship's  services  with  our  chaplain,  and  have 
made  thirty  visits  TO  the  hospitals  and  enjoyed  many  pre- 
cious seasons  in  speaking  and  praying  with  a  great  number 
of  the  patients  in  their  several  wards.  I  have  written 
many  letters  to  the  men  and  boys  at  the  different  ports  to 
which  they  sailed  irom  here,  and  have  received  many  en- 
couraging letters  from  them.  I  have  also  received  a  large 
number  of  letters  from  the  mothers  of  many  of  these  dear 
boys,  inquiring  about  them.  I  find  this  is  becoming  a  very 
important  part  of  my  work.  T  have  distributed  thousands 
of  pages  of  choice  reading  matter  on  the  ships,  for  which 
all  are  very  grateful.  I  wish  especially  in  their  behalf, 
to  thank  the  many  kind  friends  who  have  furnished  me  so 
much  of  this  literature.  I  have  often  visited  our  "Seaman's 
Home"  and  conversed  with  its  inmates,  and  tried  to  ad- 
vance the  Bethel  and  ship  work  by  all  means  in  my  power. 
The  officers  and  men  and  apprentice  boys  have  always 
treated  me  kindly,  and  much  good  has  been  apparently 
done  among  them." 


CHAPTER    XL 

ON  SHIP  AND  ON  SHORE. 

If  you  cannot,  on  the  ocean,  sail  among  the  swiftest  fleet, 
Rocking  on  the  highest  billow,  laughing  at  the  storm  you 

meet, 
You  can  stand  among  the  sailors  anchored  yet  within  the 

bay, 
You  can  lend  a  hand  to  help  them  as  they  launch  their 

boats  away." 

—Phillips. 

IT  has  been  observed  by  the  reader  that  for  some 
time  the  work  of  the  Chaplain  of  the  Bethel 
had  not  been  prosperous.  The  incumbent  had 
high  ideas  of  personal  dignity,  with  a  somewhat  ex- 
alted churchism,  and  felt  that  it  was  his  place  to 
command  and  the  sailors  place  to  obey,  even  in 
matters  of  religion.  He  could  not  understand  that 
Jack  on  shore  was  a  freeman,  and  the  very  fact  that 


142  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

he  had  been  compelled  to  submit  to  a  vigorous  dis- 
cipline on  the  ship  made  him  the  more  certain  to 
assert  his  independence  when  on  the  land.    He  was 
then  on  an  independent  cruise,  and  he  rather  de- 
lighted in  running  close  by  the  most  dangerous 
reefs,  if  only  to  show  his  own  skill  in  avoiding  ship- 
wreck.   He  could  be  touched,  but  not  by  cold  and 
high-headed  dignity.    He  did  not  care  for  a  clerical 
garb.     He  resented  sing-song  cant.     Bustling  rit- 
uals meant  nothing  to  him.     He  was  not  looking 
for  men  of  that  ilk  at  all.    In  fact,  he  was  not  look- 
ing for  anybody.     Least  of  all  was  he  on  the  hunt 
for  a  man  shut  up  in  stone  walls,  sitting  in  a  high 
pulpit,  and  in  a  solemn  air  waiting  for  some  rollick- 
ing tar  to  come  in  and  bow  down  and  say:    "Most 
Reverend  Sir,  won't  you  please  condescend  to  tell 
me  how  I  may  be  saved?"    Such  a  man,  sitting  in 
"the  dim — very  dim — religious  light"  of  such  a 
place  is  not  very  likely  to  have  many  "mourners  ' 
at  his  "bench;"  certainly  not  many  of  the  gallani 
and  light  hearted  boys  of  the  sea.    The  wonder  is 
not  that  they  do  not  come,  but  that  he  sits  there 
and  expects  them  to  come.     The  free  street,  the 
wide   open   door,    the   generous   invitation   going 
straight  to  the  heart,  the  manly  recognition  of  the 


ON  SHIP  AND  ON  SHORE.  143 

sailor-boy's  own  manhood,  the  tender  reference  to 
his  far-away  mother,  or  the  watching,  waiting 
sweetheart,  anxious  for  her  absent  lover's  good,  and 
praying  for  his  safe  return,  these  and  such  thoughts 
as  these  will  gain  his  ear  and  hold  his  heart.  When 
he  learns  to  love  the  representative  of  Christ  he 
will  soon  love  the  Christ  he  represents.  There  is 
no  other  avenue  to  the  sailor's  heart. 

Unfortunately  the  Chaplain  at  this  time  in  the 
Bethel  had  never  learned  this  lesson.  A  good  man 
undoubtedly,  he  was  stern  and  inflexible.  He  was 
a  bit  of  the  rock  of  Horeb  that  by  some  accident 
had  been  dislocated  and  fallen  upon  the  blood- 
bathed,  love-illumined  summits  of  the  mount  of 
the  Cross  and  of  the  Transfiguration.  He  was  the 
everlasting  thunder  of  the  law,  jarring  its  discords 
of  wrath  amidst  the  heavenly  symphonies  of  "grace 
and  truth." 

Mr.  Fletcher,  while  doing  the  things  of  the  law, 
always  sang  and  talked  and  lived  according  to  the 
strains  of  the  "New  Song,"  "Peace  on  earth,  good 
will  to  men."  This  difference  in  feeling  and  its  re- 
sultant expression  in  action,  brought  to  him  much 
trial,  and,  what  was  infinitely  worse,  greatly  re- 
tarded the  general  work  of  the  society.  The  ser- 


144  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

vices  at  the  Bethel  under  the  direction  of  the 
Chaplain  were  nearly  deserted,  notwithstanding  the 
work  of  Mr.  Fletcher  on  ship-board  and  elsewhere 
among  the  sailors  was  prosecuted  with  his  usual 
diligence  and  success.  He  did  all  he  could  to 
remedy  the  evil  by  the  most  hearty  assistance  he 
could  render  at  the  Bethel,  and  with  some  good  re- 
sults, but  not  so  marked  as  he  desired.  By  some 
solicitation  he  succeeded  in  persuading  the  Chap- 
lain to  go  out  on  the  streets  for  a  short  service  of 
song  before  the  hour  for  chapel  services,  and  by 
this  means  gather  a  larger  number  inside  to  listen 
to  the  sermon  which  followed.  Still  even  this 
seemed  not  strong  enough  to  overcome  the  evil 
influence  that  paralyzed  the  public  work  at  the 
Bethel.  It  is  no  wonder  that  Mr.  Fletcher  earnest- 
ly prayed  that  "'the  Lord  would  send  a  change 
soon  in  the  Chaplaincy  of  the  Bethel.'' 

On  the  12th  of  May  he  notes  one  of  the  peculiar- 
ly sad  class  of  incidents  that  are  always  occurring 
in  seaports.  The  carpenter  of  the  bark  Clynder, 
while  endeavoring  to  cross  a  railroad  trestle  on  his 
way  to  his  ship,  while  under  the  influence  of  liquor, 
fell  from  it  and  was  killed.  His  name  was  Jacob 
Bremner,  of  Hamburg,  Germany.  Only  a  few  days 


ON  SHIP  AND  ON  SHORE.  146 

before  Mr.  Fletcher  had  visited  the  ship  on  his 
Sabbath  morning  round,  and  spent  a  half  hour  in 
talking  to  the  men  in  the  forecastle,  and  distribut- 
ing books  and  papers  among  them.  This  man  was 
doubtless  among  those  who  shared  the  loving  min- 
istrations of  this  lover  of  men  at  that  time.  It  was 
doubtless  the  last  call  of  that  kind  he  ever  listened 
to.  It  is  not  wonderful  that  the  one  who  was  God's 
messenger  in  uttering  that  call  should  say,  "I  am 
more  than  ever  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  my 
work  among  these  dear  men  of  the  sea,  and  that 
what  I  have  to  do  for  them  must  be  done  quickly. 
This  makes  the  seventeenth  that  we  have  laid  away 
in  our  new  mariner's  cemetery  since  it  was  opened." 
Sad  as  is  that  last  record,  there  is  a  very  glad  one 
that  stands  against  it,  namely,  that  many  times  that 
number  had  come  to  this  port  "dead  in  trespass  and 
in  sins"  but  had  sailed  away  again  with  a  new  spirit- 
ual life  in  their  hearts.  While  the  sad  hearts  of  the 
friends  of  those  who  sleep  in  that  cemetery  will 
turn  towards  Portland  and  think  of  their  dead  who 
slumber  there,  many  more  will  turn  towards  it  and 
think  of  their  living  who  were  born  there  unto  the 
new  and  incorruptible  life.  While  the  first  will 
think  of  Mr.  Fletcher  as  the  one  whose  hands 


146  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHEK. 

gently  smoothed  the  dying  pillow  of  wandering 
sons  or  brothers  or  lovers,  and  whose  care  gave 
them  Christian  sepulchre  under  the  distant  skies  of 
Oregon,  the  latter  will  think  of  him  as  the  priest 
ministrant  at  the  altar  of  divine  consecration  when 
their  sons  or  brothers  or  lovers  were  "born  into  the 
Kingdom  of  God."  Or,  they  themselves,  thus  and 
here  born  into  that  divine  life,  will  turn  back  to  it 
in  ever-recurring  remembrance  of  the  natal  hour 
and  natal  spot  that  will  forever  monument  their 
spiritual  birth.  They  will  sing: — 

'•There  is  a  spot  to  rne  more  dear 

Than  native  vale  or  mountain; 
A  spot  for  which  affection's  tear 

Springs  grateful  from  its  fountain." 
'Tis  not  where  kindred  souls  abound. 

Though  that  were  almost  heaven; 
But  where  I  first  my  Saviour  found 

And  felt  my  sins  forgiven 

O,  blessed  hour!    O,  hallowed  spot 

Where  love  divine  first  found  me! 
Wherever  falls  my  distant  lot, 

My  heart  still  lingers  round  thee. 
And  when  from  earth  I  rise  and  soar 

Up  to  my  home  in  heaven, 
Down  will  I  cast  my  eyes  once  more 

Where  I  was  first  forgiven." 


ON  SHIP  AND  ON  SHORE.  147 

And  to  many  a  one  that  spot  will  be  the  beauti- 
ful port  of  the  Willamette,  and  the  gentle  pilot, 
who  led  the  inquiring  soul  into  the  haven  of  rest 
and  life  will  bear  the  name  of  Fletcher;  and  they 
"will  glorify  God  in  him." 

Early  in  June  of  this  year  the  receipt  of  a  letter 
from  a  young  man  who  had  been  a  member  some 
years  before  of  the  Sabbath  morning  class  of  Mr. 
Fletcher  in  Taylor  Street  Church,  brought  many 
pleasant  and  grateful  memories  to  his  mind  which 
he  thus  records: 

"I  received  a  letter  to-day  from  Brother  E.  K.  Zimmer- 
man, now  of  the  Kansas  Conference,  and  stationed  at 
Reamsville,  Kansas.  This  dear  brother  was  put  into  my 
class  by  Rev.  C.  C.  Stratton.  our  pastor,  when  he  was  con- 
verted. It  was  Brother  Stratton  also  who  appointed  me 
leader  of  that  class.  While  Brother  Zimmerman  was  a 
member  of  my  class  he  received  the  blessings  of  perfect 
love,  and  felt  himself  called  to  preach  the  gospel.  So  he 
went  to  the  theological  seminary  in  Boston  for  three  years. 
After  he  got  through  Avith  his  studies  he  entered  the  Kan- 
sas conference,  where  he  has  been  a  good  and  faithful 
minister  ever  since.  I  had  not  heard  from  him  for  some 
years  and  my  heart  rejoices  at  the  good  news  from  him 
In  looking  over  my  old  class-books  from  1869  to  1880,  I 
flnd  that  there  are  now  live  members  of  that  Sabbath 
morning  class  preaching  the  gospel,  and  one  died  a  few 
months  ago.  The  first  was  Brother  Zimmerman,  then  came 


148  W1LLIM   S.   FLETCHER. 

T.  L.  Sails,  then  S.  O.  Royal  and  A.  J.  McNamee,  and  later 
E.  A.  Shoreland  and  .7.  C.  Teter,  th*1  last  two  now  in  Africa 
under  that  dear  man  of  God,  Bishop  Taylor." 

This  quotation  from  Mr.  Fletcher's  journal  is 
given  specially  to  show  how  the  small  seeds  of 
grace  sown  in  human  hearts,  under  the  silent  in- 
fluences of  pious  culture,  spring  up  and  bring  forth 
their  great  harvests  of  goodness  over  all  the  world. 
In  this  little  class-room,  under  the  guidance  of  this 
unpretentious  leader,  these  young  men  were  being 
trained  in  the  most  essential  culture  of  a  successful 
career,  a  deep,  profound  religious  experience.  T. 
L.  Sails,  a  sailor  rescued  from  his  wide-world  rov- 
ings  by  his  conversion  in  Taylor  Street  Church,  be- 
came one  of  the  best  beloved  and  most  successful 
of  Oregon  pastors,  and  then  went  up  to  his  rest. 
Stanley  O.  Royal  is  at  this  writing  among  the  hon- 
ored and  useful  members  of  the  Cincinnati  Con- 
ference. After  some  years  of  most  devoted  mis- 
sionary toil  under  Bishop  Taylor  in  Africa,  E.  A. 
Shoreland  stepped  into  the  ascending  chariot  on 
the  banks  of  the  Congo.  J.  E.  Teter  wrought  no- 
bly for  the  Master  under  the  same  great  leader- 
ship in  the  "Darkest  Africa,"  when  he  returned  to 
another  field  in  Florida.  Not  one  of  them  but 


ON  SHIP  AND  ON  SHORE.  149 

bore  some  impress  of  the  moulding  spirit  of  Mr. 
Fletcher  into  all  their  splendid  life-work.  Surely 
"the  children  of  the  kingdom  are  the  good  seed," 
not  so  much  by  what  they  say  and  teach,  as  by 
what  they  are  and  do. 

Only  a  month  after  the  entry  in  Mr.  Fletcher's 
journal  made  in  relation  to  E.  A.  Shoreland,  he 
chronicles  the  news  of  his  death.  Mr.  Fletcher  had 
so  much  to  do  with  the  first  religious  life  of  Mr. 
Shoreland  that  it  appears  proper  to  make  some 
larger  reference  to  him,  and  to  the  noble  place  he 
was  filling  even  in  his  early  manhood,  in  the  work 
of  the  Master. 

Shoreland  was  an  English  sailor,  and  came  to 
Portland  as  such,  and.  like  the  great  mass  of  sailors 
who  came  to  this  port  at  that  time,  wild  and  reck- 
less. He  had  a  strong,  forceful,  passionate  nature; 
just  such  as  must  pour  itself  out  either  in  good  or 
evil.  Here  he  left  his  ship  and  resolved  to  try  his 
fortunes  on  the  land,  at  least  for  a  time.  He  soon 
found  employment  in  such  work  as  an  uneducated 
sailor  might  do.  His  contact  with  men  on  the 
shore  in  the  active  business  of  life  gave  a  new  bent 
to  his  thoughts,  and  it  was  not  long  before  his 
mind  began  to  grasp  the  ide«.  that  there  was  some- 


ibO  WILLIAM   S.  FLETCHER. 

thing  better  in  the  world  for  men  to  do  than  to  con- 
sume the  strong  forces  of  mind  and  body  in  dissipa- 
tion and  revel,  if  not  in  crime.  His  powers  of  ob- 
servation were  keen,  and  he  soon  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  moral  help  and  the  intellectual 
stimulus  he  needed  to  make  a  man  of  himself  could 
only  be  had  in  the  associations  and  fellowship  of  the 
church.  With  full  consecrations  he  began  a  relig- 
ious life.  His  mental  ambition  was  born  with  his 
new  spiritual  birth.  When  his  soul  touched  saving 
grace  his  mind  ignited  at  contact  with  "the  mind 
of  Christ."  So  he  became  "altogether"  Christian. 
Soon  he  was  licensed  as  a  preacher,  and  labored  in 
an  energetic  though  humble  way  in  the  chapels 
and  missions  in  and  about  the  city.  Laboring 
earnestly  during  the  week  at  such  toil  as  came  to 
him,  on  the  Sabbaths  and  in  the  evenings  he 
wrought  in  the  spiritual  and  intellectual  quarries 
to  save  souls  and  to  gain  knowledge.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  both.  It  was  not  long  until  the  door  of 
the  Annual  Conference  opened  to  him  and  he  took 
his  place  in  the  line  of  the  approved  and  improving 
young  pastorate  of  the  church.  Souls  everywhere 
were  his  hire  in  the  fields  of  his  labor.  His  sturdy, 
well-knit  frame  seemed  fitted  to  the  heaviest  bur- 


ON  SHIP  AND  ON  SHORE.  151 

dens  of  a  rugged  pioneer  itinerancy.  The  church  in 
Oregon  began  to  count  on  him  as  one  whose  work 
would  pillar  her  future  with  strength  and  beauty. 

Just  at  this  time  the  work  of  Bishop  Taylor  in 
Africa  was  drawing  the  vision  of  the  church 
thitherward  with  a  strange  enchantment.  Shore- 
land's  was  a  soul  to  feel  the  contagion  of  Taylor's 
enthusiasm  and  consecration.  He  was  brave 
enough  to  respond  to  it,  and  he  entered  the  work 
in  that  dark  land  with  an  enthusiasm  and  a  judg- 
ment that  put  him  far  towards  the  front  of  the 
workers  there.  But  on  March  31,  1888,  his  strong 
body  succumbed  to  the  burning  grip  of  the  African 
fever,  and  at  Lorando  he  surrendered  his  purified 
soul  to  God  and  passed  into  the  heavens. 

When  the  intelligence  of  his  death  reached  Ore- 
gon it  awakened  great  sympathy  in  the  heart  of  the 
church.  The  present  writer,  who  was  at  that  time 
editor  of  the  Pacific  Christian  Advocate  in  Port- 
land, and  who  had  been  Mr.  Shoreland's  pastor  in 
the  years  of  his  early  Christian  life,  gave  the  fol- 
lowing notice  of  the  event  in  his  paper  of  July  12, 
1888:- 

"So  this  dear  brother  has  given  his  life  for  Africa.     He 
gave  it  really  when  he  went  there,  for  no  one  can  RO  on 


152  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

such  a  mission  ;is  that  without  giving  his  life  to  it.  The 
whole  for  life  or  death  is  determined  when  the  work  is 
undertaken.  So  it  was  with  Brother  Shoreland.  Only  a 
few  minutes  before  he  stepped  on  board  the  cars  that  bore 
him  away  from  this  city  on  his  mission  to  Africa,  we  bade 
him  adieu.  Tears  were  in  his  eyes  and  ours,  as  we  looked 
the  last  look  of  love,  spoke  the  last  word  of  fellowship. 
We  have  borne  him  on  our  heart  daily  since  that  hour.  We 
resign  that  strong  and  consecrated  manhood  to  death  reluc- 
tantly, if  we  dare  say  that,  ana  yet  feeling  that  someway 
his  going  to  Africa  and  dying  there  is  a  part  of  the  price  of 
Africa's  redemption,  and  so  our  regrets  are  mingled  with 
rejoicing  at  his  entrance  into  the  life  eternal.  Sails  and 
Shoreland!  How  they  loved  each  other;  and  how  they 
have  met  so  soon." 

Mr.  Fletcher's  reference  to  Shoreland,  when  he 
received  the  intelligence  of  his  death,  was  charac- 
teristically tender.  He  says: 

"I  have  seen  by  the  Advocate  to-day  the  news  of  the 
death  of  our  dear  Brother  Shoreland,  who  went  out  with 
Bishop  Taylor  under  the  call  of  God  to  help  redeem  Africa. 
Well  do  I  remember  when  I  flrst  met  him  years  ago  with 
other  English  sailor  lads,  who  had  left  their  ships  on  this 
coast,  wild  and  reckless,  just  as  I  myself  used  to  be  before 
the  grace  and  spirit  of  God  found  me,  as  it  afterwards 
found  Brother  Shoreland.  Now  he  is  gone  to  heaven  to 
meet  our  beloved  shipmate,  T.  L.  Sails,  who  has  just  gone 
before  him.  I  am  still  left  to  sow  a  little  more  seed  of 
the  kingdom,  and,  if  possible,  to  save  a  few  more  of  these 


ON  SHIP  AND  ON  SHORE.  153 

dear  sailor  lads,  so  they  too  may  become  like  these  who 
have  gone  above,  mighty  through  God  in  the  saving  of 
their  fellows.  May  God  till  me  with  grace  and  power  for 
this  great  work 


CHAPTER    XII. 

CORRESPONDENCE. 

"It  is  a  great  mistake  to  think  of  converting  the  world 
without  the  help  of  the  sailor.  You  might  as  well  think  of 
melting  a  mountain  of  ice  with  a  moonbeam,  or  of  heating 
an  oven  with  snowballs;  but  get  the  sailor  converted,  and 
he  is  off  from  one  port  to  another  as  if  you  had  put  spurs 

to  lightning." 

—Taylor. 

T  \URING  the  summer  months  the  ships  that 
-J — '  trade  with  Portland  are  mostly  on  their 
voyages  out,  and  they  do  not  generally  begin  to 
arrive  in  port  for  cargo  until  autumn.  Consequent- 
ly during  these  months  there  is  little  "ship  work" 
unless  "a  wanderer"  chances  along.  Much  corres- 
pondence was  generally  carried  on  by  Mr.  Fletch- 
er at  this  time  with  captains  and  sailors  from  their 
home  ports.  It  was  almost  entirely  with  those 
who  owed  him  some  special  gratitude  for  his  care 
over  them  religiously  when  they  were  here,  or  from 
those  who  by  his  influence  had  been  led  to  Christ 


CORRESPONDENCE.  155 

and  had  gone  away  Christians,  even  though  they 
came  condemned  sinners.  Not  infrequently  the 
friends,  as  mother,  sister,  brother  or  father  of  some 
poor  wanderer  who  had  been  sick  and  perhaps 
died  here,  and  had  been  tenderly  watched  over  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  while  living  or  lovingly  laid 
away  to  rest  when  dead,  would  send  some  tender 
and  pathetic  acknowledgment  of  that  care  and  love. 
A  brief  chapter  of  this  correspondence,  selected 
from  a  few  of  the  many  letters  received  by  them  at 
different  times  and  on  various  occasions,  cannot 
but  be  interesting  and  profitable  to  the  readers  of 
these  pages;  as  they  will  show  the  high  esteem 
in  which  these  lovers  of  their  race  were  personally 
held  by  those  whom  they  so  heartily  and  generous- 
ly comforted  and  aided  when  they  were  strangers 
in  a  strange  land.  Besides  they  will  give  some 
glimpses  of  the  trying  life  of  the  sailor  and  of  the 
terrible  moral  strain  that  is  upon  him  to  lead  him 
away  from  all  good  and  truth  and  virtue,  against 
which  the  efforts  of  such  men  and  women  as  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Fletcher,  are  about  the  only  safeguard 
and  protection.  They  will  be  introduced  without 
any  special  chronological  order,  as  they  are  used 
only  for  the  ends  named  above.  The  first  is  from  a 


156  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHEK. 

lady  of  Birkenhead,  England,  in  a  full,  round  beau- 
tiful chirography,  and  is  signed  by  "Kate  Mac- 
lean," and  is  as  follows: 

"Dear  Mrs.  Fletcher:— My  brother  Hughie  has  told  us  so 
much  about  you  and  Mr.  Fletcher,  that  we  all  feel  as  if  we 
knew  you;  and  we  all  feel  so  very  grateful  to  you  for  all 
the  kindness  you  showed  him  during  his  stay  in  Portland, 
Oregon.  He  did  so  enjoy  being  with  you,  and  said  it  always 
gave  him  a  taste  of  home  when  he  went  to  your  house.  * 
*  *  *  We  shall  always  think  ot  you  with  feel- 
ings of  love  and  gratitude  for  all  your  goodness  to  Hughie." 

It  is  suitable  that  this  letter  from  the  loving 
sister  should  be  followed  by  one  from  the  sailor 
brother  over  whose  welfare  she  so  tenderly 
watched.  It  was  also  dated  at  Birkenhead.  April 
23,  1890;  and  reads  as  follows: 

"Dear  Mr.  Fletcher: — I  suppose  you  have  quite  given  up 
all  hope  of  ever  hearing  from  me  again.  I  feel  quite 
ashamed  of  myself  for  not  writing  you  sooner,  after  all  the 
kindness  received  by  me  from  you  and  Mrs.  Fletcher, 
which  was  so  much  more  to  me  as  I  was  in  a  strange  place 
and  so  far  from  home. 

"I  have  been  working  on  board  the  ship  for  the  past  fort- 
night, so  that  will  be  in  part  excuse  for  not  writing.  We 
sail  tomorrow  for  Sydney,  New  South  Wales,  with  part  of 
the  cargo  for  Newcastle.  I  have  often  thought  of  the  many 
happy  evenings  I  spent  in  Grace  Chapel,  and  how  homelike 


CORRESPONDENCE.  157 

it  felt  to  get  among  kind  people,  and  I  feel  quite  sure  that 
it  the  congregation  knew  how  happy  they  make  boys  feel 
when  in  a  strange  land,  and  far  from  their  friends,  by  their 
shake  of  the  hand,  it  would  pay  them  ten-fold.  I  suppose 
you  are  quite  at  home  in  your  new  church  by  this  time,  aud 
I  hope  it  pleases  everybody,  but  if  1  ever  go  to  Portland 
again  I  think  I  would  foel  more  at  home  by  going  to  the 
nice  little  chapel  than  to  the  new  church. 

"My  father  and  sisters  all  wish  to  be  kindly  remembered 
to  you  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  for  your  kindness  to  me;  and  I 
close  with  love  and  best  wishes  to  you  both  from  us  all. 
"Yours  sincerely, 

"HUOHIE  MACLEAN." 

What  a  beautiful  glympse  of  real  human  brother- 
hood and  sisterhood  is  opened  to  the  mind  of  the 
reader  in  these  two  letters.  The  sailor-boy,  swim- 
ming over  distant  seas  on  the  rolling  ship;  the 
loving  sister  in  the  cottage-home  following  him 
day  by  day  over  the  wide  main  with  her  heart's 
best  love  and  her  faith's  most  ardent  prayers;  the 
true,  human-hearted  Christian  standing  on  the 
dock,  half  way  round  the  world,  awaiting,  with 
wide  open  and  protecting  arms,  the  sailor  coming 
from  the  seas;  the  little  chapel  out  of  whose  doors 
and  windows  streams  the  inviting  light  of  the  Gos- 
pel; the  congregation  of  loving  worshipers  ex- 
tending their  hands  in  glad  greeting  to  the  sea- 


158  WILLIAM   S.  FLETCHER. 

worn  sailor  from  another  clime  to  the  strong' 
brotherhood  and  the  loving  sisterhood  of  the 
church;  these  are  all  a  part  of  the  beautiful  whole 
of  the  scene  these  letters  paint  to  the  mind.  Surely 
such  facts  and  such  work  go  far  to  prove  that,  even 
if  humanity  was  all  lost  in  Adam,  it  was  all  re- 
gained in  Christ. 

A  sailor-boy  who  has  been  cared  for  and  instruct- 
ed by  Mr.  Fletcher  and  his  wife  while  in  port  is 
now  about  to  sail  away  on  his  long  voyage.  His 
vessel  had  dropped  down  the  Columbia  to  Astoria, 
and  just  before  she  put  to  sea  he  wrote  Mr.  Fletch- 
er the  following  letter: 

"Dear  Brother  in  the  Lord:—  I  thought  it  good  to  write  a 
line  before  we  leave  for  home.  We  thank  God  for  the  visits 
which  you  have  paid  to  ns  from  time  to  time  since  we  ar- 
rived in  Portland.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  we  will  see  the 
fruits  of  them  some  day  if  not  now.  We  thank  you  for  the 
reading  which  you  gave  us,  especially  for  the  book  of  ser- 
mons. It  is  singular  but  it  is  the  very  thing  that  I  desired, 
so  I  consider  the  Lord  sent  it.  Blessed  ever  be  His  holy 
name  for  His  kind  care  of  me.  This  is  like  the  Lord  in 
all  His  dealings  with  me.  He  supplies  all  of  my  wants 
and  takes  all  of  my  cares.  I  did  intend  to  visit  you  before  I 
left,  but  you  see  the  Lord  sent  what  I  wanted.  I  hope  that 
your  mission  room  will  soon  open.  You  cannot  know  what 
a  comfort  it  is  to  have  a  place  to  go  to  where  we  may  find 


CORRESPONDENCE.  159 

Christian  fellowship  with  those  Avho  love  the  Lord  and  love 
to  speak  of  these  things.  In  my  case  you  are  the  only  one 
I  have  had  a  word  Avith  since  I  came  there,  I  never  neglect- 
ed to  try  to  lead  any  who  were  around  me  in  the  ship  in 
the  right,  and  had  good  hopes  that  all  was  well  with  some 
of  them,  but  having  no  place  where  I  could  direct  thorn 
when  they  might  meet  with  what  they  needed  to  keep  thorn 
from  temptation  they  seem  all  to  have  fallen  away.  I 
think  more  of  this  as  I  see  the  need  of  their  finding  some 
kind  friend  who  has  influence  to  keep  them  from  the  "run- 
ners" and  "boarding  house  masters."  One  of  our  men  es- 
pecially I  will  mention.  He  has  a  wife  and  little  one  at 
home.  He  had  remained  firm  until  the  last  day  or  two. 
when,  through  drink,  he  fell  away  and  left.  Here  is  a  wife 
and  little  one  left  to  get  their  bread  as  best  they  can,  as 
the  half-pay  that  she  had  stopped.  I  am  sure  if  proper  in- 
fluence had  been  brought  to  bear  on  him  the  boarding- 
masters  would  not  have  got  him. 

"The  papers  and  books  that  you  gave  will  be  read  and 
distributed  around  on  the  ship. 

Yours,  in  Christ, 

WILLIAM  BUNTING." 

Member  Seaman's  Christian  Life  Boat  Crew.  Motto— "He 
that  wiuneth  souls  is  wise." 

This  letter  indicates  one  class  of  perils  to  which 
the  sailor  in  port  is  always  exposed.  Mr.  Fletcher 
himself,  in  his  early  life,  when  on  the  sea  had  suf- 
fered from  them,  and  he  was  the  better  prepared 
to  guard  those  who  came  under  his  influence  from 


160  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

them.  There  are  always  in  every  port  land  pirates 
who  lie  in  wait  to  make  Jack  their  prey.  False, 
immoral,  treacherous  men.  yea.  and  women  too. 
whose  sole  business  is  entrapping  the  unwary  into 
their  dens  of  infamy  and  then  robbing  them  of 
whatever  they  may  have  of  worth,  and  then  casting 
them  out  into  the  street,  careless  whether  they  live 
or  die.  Many  and  many  were  the  sailor-boys  Mr. 
Fletcher  guided  away  from  these  haunts  of  death — 
these  chambers  of  hell.  He  led  them  to  the 
church.  He  took  them  to  his  own  home.  He  was 
brother,  father,  protector  to  them.  Mrs.  Fletcher 
was  sister,  mother,  friend  to  them.  No  wonder 
the  sisters,  mothers  and  fathers  of  these  sailor-boys 
all  over  the  world  love  and  revere  the  names  of 
these  two  angels  of  help  to  their  brothers  and  sons 
in  Portland.  The  Christ  himself  will  say  unto 
them,  "inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  the  least 
of  these,  ye  have  done  it  unto  Me." 

Some  of  these  letters  show  something  of  the  hard 
and  harsh  treatment  given  the  sailors  on  board 
some  of  the  ships.  Tn  a  letter  bearing  date  at  Liv- 
erpool, from  David  Jones,  we  find  the  following:— 

"I  arrived  here  Monday  night,  and  we  laid  six  days  hi 
Queenstown.  The  ship  I  came  home  on.  (the  Edward 


CORRESPONDENCE.  161 

O'Brien,)  I  need  hardly  tell  you,  was  a  very  hot  one;  but  I 
am  pleased  to  say  that  I  got  along  better  than  I  did  in  any 
other  ship.  I  have  the  chance  of  going  back,  either  as 
third  mate  or  second  boatswain,  but  I  would  not  go  in  her 
for  $100  a  month  and  have  to  beat  men  the  way  the  officers 
did.  There  were  four  men  in  that  ship  triced  up  by  the 
1  numbs  for  threatening  to  kill  the  mate.  One  of  them  had 
a  revolver  in  his  breast  at.  the  time  he  was  hanging  up  on 
the  line;  but  he  had  no  chance  to  use  it.  I  suppose. 

We  had  a  very  stormy  passage.  Two  men  were  washed 
overboard,  but  we  got  them  again  with  a  great  deal  of 
trouble,  more  dead  than  alive.  Another  seaman  fell  from 
the  rigging  while  reefing  the  sails,  and  broke  his  leg  and 
cut  his  face." 

This  letter  from  David  Jones  was  followed  not 
long  after  by  one  dated  Liverpool,  August  26th. 
1889,  from  Mr.  E.  Jones,  the  father  of  David,  which 
has  great  interest  as  indicating  the  excellent  influ- 
ence of  Mr.  Fletcher  over  the  life  and  destiny  of 
these  sailor-boys  in  all  respects.  The  letter  of  Mr. 
Jones.  Senior,  says: 

"Dear  Mr.  Fletcher:  I  now  take  the  pleasure  of  writing 
you,  hoping  these  few  lines  will  find  you  in  good  health. 
David  received  your  kind  letter,  Avhich  I  think  he  answered 
the  same  week  after  receiving  it.  We  were  very  pleased  to 
have  him  home,  also  to  see  him  looking  so  well.  We 
scarcely  knew  him  when  he  came,  ho  has  altered  so  much, 
but  were  pleased  to  see  such  a  change  in  him  for  the  better. 


162  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

He  is  settling  down  better  than  we  thought  he  would,  and 
looks  at  things  iu  a  more  sensible  light  than  he  formerly 
did.  And,  above  all,  we  were  pleased  to  see  that  he  is  a  to- 
tal abstainer.  He  Avas  telling  us  he  had  not  touched  drink 
since  he  left  the  Arethusa,  and  we  have  no  fear  now  of  his 
falling  away  again.  Many  thanks  for  the  kindly  influence 
you  have  had  on  him,  and  the  interest  you  have  taken  in  his 
Avelfare.  We  assure  you  we  have  appreciated  your  kindness 
very  much,  although  we  can  return  you  but  poor  thanks 
by  letter.  His  mind  seems  settled  on  America,  especially 
the  district  you  reside  in. 

Well,  he  has  left  us  once  more.  He  did  not  go  back  on 
Ihe  Kdward  O'Brien.  As  there  was  very  cruel  treatment 
on  board  during  her  passage  here,  we  did  not  wish  him  to 
go  in  her  again.  He  sailed  from  Liverpool  on  the  12th  of 
August  on  the  Loch  Broom,  for  Calcutta,  and  intends  ship- 
ping from  there  to  'Frisco  if  he  can.  We  hope  he  will  soon 
meet  with  a  ship  from  there.  As  he  seems  to  have  his 
mind  on  America,  we  think  he  would  do  better  to  settle 
ashore.  With  kind  regards  to  Mrs.  Fletcher, 
Sincerely  yours, 

E.  JONES." 

One  cannot  read  such  letters  without  feeling 
that  it  is  really  easy  to  do  good.  A  kind,  sympa- 
thizing heart,  good  common  sense,  an  earnest 
spirit  and  a  soul  in  fellowship  with  the  soul  of 
Christ  can  hardly  avoid  doing  good.  It  does  not 
need  great  professions  or  even  great  abilities,  only 
sincerity,  truth  and  love.  They  were  the  elements 


CORRESPONDENCE.  103 

that  bore  the  mastery  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Fletcher, 
and  that  found  for  him  so  ready  an  opening  into 
the  hearts  of  sailor-boys  with  whom  he  came  into 
contact.  How  many  they  lifted  from  profanity  to 
prayer,  from  drunkenness  to  devotion,  from  revel- 
ry to  reverence,  from  a  life  of  aimless  folly  to  a  life 
of  high  and  holy  purpose,  only  eternity  will  dis- 
close. It  is  the  conviction  of  the  writer  that  many 
a  man  who  has  stood  in  the  high  places  of  the 
church  on  earth  may  be  found  far  below  him  in  the 
preferments  of  the  Church  Triumphant.  God 
does  not  forget,  nor  the  Recording  Angel  keep  the 
book  incorrectly.  If  "patient  continuance  in  well 
doing,"  if  constant  "looking  for  glory  and  honor 
and  immortality"  gives  any  assurance  of  "eternal 
life/'  or  gives  an  advanced  grade  of  heavenly  re- 
ward, surely  he  will  shine  among  the  brightest 
"stars  in  the  firmament  forever  and  ever." 

One  other  letter  written  by  a  young  man  of  evi- 
dently more  than  average  intelligence,  must  close 
this  chapter  of  correspondence.  It  was  written  on 
board  the  English  ship  "Clan  McPherson,"  in  San 
Francisco  harbor,  January  11,  1891,  and  is  as  fol- 
lows: 


164  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

"Dear  Mr.  Fletcher:— Just  a  few  lines  to  inform  you  of 
our  safe  arrival  here,  for  which  I  humbly  thank  God,  for 
only    He    knows    how    near    we    were    to    death    on    this 
passage.    We  arrived  here  last  Wednesday  after  a  very 
quick    but   a   most    terrible    and    disastrous    voyage.    We 
experienced  nothing  but  gales  of  wind  the  whole  way;     in 
fact  we  have  never  had  a  dry  deck  until  the  day  we  arrived 
here.    The  worst  hurricane  we  encountered  was  on  Christ- 
mas  eve.    Without   exaggeration    the   sea   ran    mountains 
high,  and  caused  a  tremendous  amount  of  damage,  and  un- 
fortunately some   accidents,   one  of  which   nearly  proved 
fatal.    This  was  in  the  case  of  an  apprentice  of  the  name 
of  Killam.    The  poor  boy  was  knocked  down  by  a  large  sea 
and  nearly  drowned,  so  that  it  took  us  nearly  two  hours  to 
bring  him   to   consciousness.       He   Avas   horribly   cut  and 
bruised  about  the  head  and  on  the  body,  so  that  we  all 
despaired  of  his  life;   but  I  am  glad  to  say  he  is  now  recov- 
ering.   The  same  sea  threw  the  ship  on  her  beam  ends  and 
the  cargo  shifting  we  remained  in  that  dangerous  predica- 
met  throughout  the  gale.    Every  wave  that  broke  over  us 
that  dreadful  night  threatened   to   swamp  us,   and   every 
minute  we  thought  she  would  founder.   We  had  a  miserable 
Christmas,  Mr.  Fletcher,  as  we  were  in  the  hold  trimming 
cargo  all  the  time,  with  nothing  for  our  Christmas  cheer 
but  rum  and  biscuit,   as  nothing  could  be  cooked  in  the 
galley.     Our  two  boats  on  the  house  were  washed  away, 
the  pigs  and  the  pigsty,  the  posts  along  our  bulwarks,  and 
everything  that  was  movable  on  our   decks.    In   fact,    we 
were  a  complete  wreck.    How  grateful  we  are  to  God  for 
His  goodness  to  us  in  enabling  us  to  reach  our  destination, 
I  will  leave  you  to  imagine. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  165 

-Remember  me  to  dear  Mrs.  Fletcher,  and  tell  her  again 
how  grateful  I  am  for  her  kindness  to  me  while  in  Port- 
land. I  remain  your  sincerely  attached  young  friend, 

"G.  J.  SPINK." 

What  a  picture  of  the  perils  of  a  sailor's  life  is 
here  presented,  not  in  the  fancy  paintings  of  a 
Marryatt  or  a  Reid,  but  in  the  experience  of  this 
young  sailor,  who  had  this  hard  wrestle  with  the 
winds  and  the  waves  on  this  awful  Christmas  day. 
Surely  these  "sailor-lads,"  as  Mr.  Fletcher  so  of- 
ten and  so  tenderly  calls  them,  deserve  the  kind- 
liest treatment  of  those  for  whose  comfort  and 
pleasure  they  "go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships  and  do 
business  in  great  waters."  Brave?  The  warrior 
before  the  cannon's  mouth  is  not  braver!  When 
"the  sea  shall  give  up  the  dead  that  is  in  it,"  many 
and  many  will  rise  from  their  coral  beds  and  sea- 
weed shrouds  to  wear  the  whitest  robes  and  bear 
the  brightest  crowns  in  Paradise. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

WON     FOR     GOD. 

"Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters,  for  thou  shall  find  it 
after  many  days."— Bible. 

OWARDS  the  last  of  August,  of  1888,  the 
first  vessel  of  the  autumn  merchant  fleet 
arrived  in  Portland,  and  Mr.  Fletcher  hastened  to 
greet  its  sailors  with  his  usual  messages  of  good. 
The  summer  had  been  spent  largely  in  work  in  the 
mission  Sunday  school,  and,  as  opportunity  offered 
in  services  on  the  street  and  in  the  Bethel.  But 
the  prospects  of  the  work  in  the  Bethel  were  still 
clouded  by  the  unfortunate  condition  of  its  chap- 
laincy. This,  of  course,  was  a  sore  trial  to  the  pa- 
tience and  Christian  forbearance  of  Mr.  Fletcher, 
but  he  bore  it  with  courage,  and  labored  on  to 
build  up  the  general  work,  and  to  reach  and  save 
the  individual  seamen.  He  notes  that  at  one  of 
the  Bethel  prayer  meetings  a  young  sailor  who  had 
just  arrived  in  port  introduced  himself  and  inquired 


WON    FOli   GOD.  167 

if  he  recognized  him,  and  when  informed  that  he 
did  not,  replied,  ''Well,  I  know  you.  I  was  here 
eight  years  ago,  when  I  was  a  boy,  and  you  held 
meetings  on  our  ship,  the  "Robert  Lee."  At  that 
time  the  captain  of  the  ship  and  four  of  the  men 
were  converted,  this  boy  among  them,  and  he  still 
remained  steadfast  and  gave  good  promise  of  a 
useful  life  among  his  shipmates.  Thus  the  bread 
cast  literally  upon  the  waters  was  found  again  "af- 
ter many  days." 

Early  in  September  of  this  year  the  annual  mer- 
chant fleet  began  to  arrive  in  port  and  for  the  three 
following  months  Mr.  Fletcher  was  kept  busy  in 
visiting  these  vessels,  and,  as  he  had  opportunity, 
doing  good  of  every  kind  to  all  on  board.  The 
cabin-boy  and  the  apprentice  was  no  more  over- 
looked in  these  efforts  than  were  the  officers.  He 
had  the  foresight  to  understand  that  the  cabin-boy 
of  to-day  will  be  the  master  of  to-morrow,  and  that 
a  child  saved  to-day  meant  a  man  or  woman  pre- 
pared for  the  work  of  the  Master  after  a  time.  So 
he  let  no  opportunity  pass  to  impress  the  young 
mind  aright.  And  it  must  be  said  that  there  have 
been  very  few  within  the  scope  of  the  writer's  ac- 
quaintance who  have  been  as  successful  in  this 


168  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

work  as  W.  S.  Fletcher.  Guileless  and  open  heart- 
ed himself,  low-voiced  and  tender  in  his  speech,  and 
with  a  face  lit  up  with  the  holy  contentment  and 
satisfaction  of  his  pure  spirit,  it  was  easy  for  him  to 
win  the  love  of  the  young  to  himself,  and  then  to 
transfer  that  love  over  to  the  Master  whose  servant 
and  lover  he  was.  His  journal  is  full  of  references 
to  "picture  cards,"  "lesson  papers/'  &c.,  that  were 
left  in  the  hands  of  the  children  on  board  the  ships, 
on  the  streets  and  in  the  Bethel  Sabbath-school. 
Especially  as  a  ship  was  about  to  put  to  sea  he 
would  appear  on  its  decks  with  bundles  of  papers, 
pictures,  books,  magazines,  for  all  on  board. 
Many  a  heart  was  made  glad  at  this  thoughtful- 
ness,  and  one  can  easily  imagine  the  pleasure  and 
profit  these  contributions  brought  to  cabin  and 
forecastle  alike  during  the  weary  months  of  the 
long  voyages  to  the  ports  of  the  neiher  world. 

In  the  midst  of  this  most  interesting  work  Mr. 
Moody  entered  upon  evangelistic  services  in  Port- 
land. Mr.  Fletcher  entered  most  heartily  into 
that  work,  and  while  he  did  not  neglect  his  ship 
work  nor  his  general  care  for  the  sailors,  he  found 
time  to  be  present  at  many  of  the  afternoon  and 
neary  all  of  the  evening  services  of  the  great  evan- 


WON    FOK    GOD.  169 

gelist.  He  was  not  only  present,  he  was  an  active 
worker  in  the  cause,  and  not  a  few  souls  were  con- 
verted by  his  instrumentality  during  the  meetings. 
He  records  one  conversion  that  occurred  during 
the  meetings  that,  on  some  accounts,  was  worthy 
to  be  recorded  among  the  really  wonderful  tri- 
umphs of  divine  grace  that  are  sometimes  seen  in 
the  progress  of  the  Christian  religion.  It  was  the 
case  of  a  man  of  national  fame  as  a  lawyer  and 
a  statesman,  who  had  reached  the  age  of  probably 
fifty-five  years,  and  whose  position  and  influence 
was  second  to  those  of  no  man  on  the  Pacific 
Coast,  Hon.  George  H.  Williams.  Mr.  Williams 
had  been  a  citizen  of  Portland  for  thirty-five  years. 
For  many  years  he  had  been  the  leading  legal  au- 
thority in  the  state,  both  as  a  judge  upon  the 
bench  and  a  practicing  attorney  in  the  courts. 
For  six  years  he  had  been  United  States  Senator 
from  Oregon.  For  four  years  he  had  been  Attor- 
ney General  of  the  United  States  in  the  cabinet  of 
General  Grant.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Joint 
High  Commission  that  settled  the  Alabama  claims. 
He  was  the  author  of  some  of  the  most  important 
and  useful  of  the  reconstruction  acts  under  which 
the  states  latelv  in  rebellion  resumed  their  places  in 


170  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

the  National  Union.  He  was  nominated  by  Gen- 
eral Grant  for  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States 
after  the  death  of  Chief  Justice  Chase.  Intellect- 
ually he  was  the  peer  of  the  great  statesmen  of  that 
day  of  great  men.  But  up  to  this  time,  the  latter 
part  of  December,  1888,  he  "had  never  bowed  his 
knee  in  prayer,"  though  he  was  a  man  of  high 
moral  character. 

The  reflections  of  his  own  mind  had  been  bring- 
ing him  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  faith  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  the  unsatisfactory  character  of  mere  world- 
ly success  had  pressed  itself  more  and  more  upon 
his  heart  as  he  had  gone  higher  and  higher  in  pub- 
lic standing  and  worldly  fame.  Mr.  Moody's  meet- 
ings were  the  occasion  of  bringing  his  mental  con- 
victions to  the  crisis  of  public  action. 

On  the  night  of  December  21,  Mr.  Williams 
stood  up  publicly,  before  a  congregation  of  not 
less  than  3,000  people  in  the  "Tabernacle,"  and  an- 
nounced his  convictions  in  clear  and  unmistakable 
words.  He  recited  the  movements  of  his  mind  as 
he  was  coming  to  the  final  conclusion  intellectual- 
ly, as  well  as  the  character  of  his  action  in  finding 
his  way,  from  darkness  to  light  and  from  the  power 
of  Satan  unto  God;"  and  how,  at  last,  that  very 


WON    FOR    GOD.  171 

day,  in  Mr.  Moody 's  room,  when  the  evangelist 
was  opening  to  his  mind  the  Scriptures  and  kneel- 
ing with  him  in  prayer,  God  sent  peace  into  his 
soul,  and  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  was  made 
to  understand  what  it  means  to  have  the  spirit  of 
God  bear  witness  with  his  spirit  that  he  was  a  child 
of  God. 

The  effect  of  the  conversion  of  Judge  Williams 
was  wonderful.  His  great,  logical  intellect,  his 
high  personal  character,  his  almost  world-wide 
fame,  everything  in  his  great  history  conspired  to 
make  this  the  most  notable  conversion  that  ever 
occurred  on  this  coast. 

In  his  plain,  straight-forward  remarks  made  on 
this  occasion  of  his  public  avowal  of  conversion  to 
the  faith  of  Christ.  Mr.  Williams  took  occasion  to 
say  that  he  had  been  brought  to  his  present  step 
by  careful  study  and  long  observation,  and  that  it 
was  not  a  sudden  impulse  or  supernatural  impres- 
sion that  led  him  to  this  public  action,  but  a  sense 
of  duty  and  of  fidelity  to  his  profoundest  convic- 
tions. It  was  a  giving  up  to  God  worthy  of  such 
a  man;  and  from  that  hour  the  position  and  action 
of  Judge  Williams  on  all  questions  of  Christian  ser- 
vice and  life  has  been  that  of  a  true  and  humble  fol- 


172  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

lower  of  the  "meek  Nazarene."  Mr.  Fletcher,  who 
was  present  on  the  occasion,  speaks  of  it  as  "one 
of  thrilling  interest." 

It  is  well  that  we  close  up  the  record  of  Mr. 
Fletcher's  work  for  1889,  and  give  the  beginning 
of  it  for  1890,  in  the  words  of  his  own  journal: 

"Dec.  31. — Mr.  Moody  closed  up  his  mission  here  with  a 
watch  night  meeting  at  the  tabernacle.  It  was  one  of  great 
power.  The  Tabernacle  was  packed  from  seven  o'clock  to 
midnight.  The  most  of  the  city  pastors  gave  short  ad- 
dresses, and  Judge  Williams  gave  a  most  thrilling  account 
of  his  experience.  Eternity  alone  can  tell  the  good  that  has 
been  accomplished  by  these  meetings.  I  have  been  greatly 
profited  by  them.  In  the  inquiry  room  I  have  spoken  to 
and  prayed  with  seventeen.  Some  of  them  were  back- 
sliders, some  seekers,  and  some  doubters.  As  the  result  of 
my  speaking  and  praying  with  them  five  have  professed  to 
be  converted,  and  two  reclaimed  from  back  sliding,  and  my 
own  soul  has  been  greatly  blest. 

I  have  written  to  Dr.  Stitt,  the  secretary  of  the  "Ameri- 
can Seaman's  Friend  Society,"  and  also  visited  two  ships 
to-day.  In  looking  over  my  work  for  the  year  that  has 
just  closed,  my  heart  has  been  made  sad  at  the  little  that 
has  been  accomplished  in  our  Bethel  work.  It  has  been 
impossible  to  get  the  sailors  or  the  longshoremen  and  their 
families  to  attend,  the  Chaplain's  ways  are  so  arrogant  and 
domineering.  Over  two  years  ago  we  had  a  good  congrega- 
tion in  the  Bethel,  both  of  sailors  and  longshoremen  and 
their  families,  and  a  good  supply  of  faithful  workers,  but 


WON    FOR    GOD.  173 

now  they  are  all  gone.I  do  feel  thankful  to  God  that  my 
way  has  not  been  hedged  up  in  my  ship  work.  My  Heaven- 
ly Father  gives  me  favor  with  both  officers  and  men  so  I 
can  do  them  good.  That  work  has  been  greatly  blest  both 
to  my  own  soul  and  my  brethren  of  the  sea,  and  the  bread 
tli at  before  had  been  cast  upon  the  waters  has  been  found 
after  many  days.  To  God  be  all  the  glory." 

Although  Mr.  Fletcher's  work  received  the  gen- 
eral support  of  the  master's  of  the  ships  in  which 
he  labored,  yet  occasionally  one  was  found  who  did 
not  enter  into  his  plans.  On  Sunday.  December 
6th,  he  refers  to  an  incident  that  illustrates  this. 
He  says: — 

"I  visited  one  ship  this  morning  and  had  a  very  profitable 
conversation  with  Captain  Vaile  on  my  spiritual  work 
among  the  sailors.  He  is  one  of  those  men  that  believe 
it  is  all  labor  lost  to  try  to  do  good  to  sailors.  I  think  that 
I  fully  convinced  him  that  so  far  as  my  own  work  is  con- 
cerned, at  least,  I  had  led  some  of  them  to  Christ  and  to  a 
better  life.  I  then  gave  him  some  of  my  own  experience 
when  I  went  to  sea  and  was  knocking  around  myself,  and 
how  the  devil  always  used  to  keep  to  windward  of  me, 
but  when  I  gave  my  heart  to  God  then  I  got  windward 
of  him,  and  by  the  power  of  the  blessed  Holy  Spirit  I  was 
able  to  keep  him  ever  after  under  my  lee.  I  then  went  for- 
ward and  spoke  to  the  men  and  boys  and  spent  about  an 
half  hour  with  them  with  much  profit  to  them  and  to  my- 
self. 


174  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

"The  way  of  the  wicked  is  as  darkness.  They 
know  not  at  what  they  stumble."  This  is  as  true 
in  regard  to  the  opinions  of  wicked  men  as  in  re- 
gard to  their  actions.  The  things  of  the  Spirit  are 
only  spiritually  discerned.  Blinded  hearts  make 
blinded  eyes.  Men  who  themselves  have  not 
learned  to  "walk  by  faith/'  nor  realized  in  what 
mysterious  ways  God  can  work  and  does  work  in 
saving  men,  reason  but  to  error  on  such  a  theme. 
It  is  not  strange,  nor  does  it  necessarily  imply  any 
unusual  perversity,  that  such  opinions  are  held  and 
expressed  by  such  men.  One  like  Mr.  Fletcher, 
whose  own  feet  had  been  taken  out  of  the  mire  and 
the  clay  of  wickedness,  and  had  been  put  upon  a 
rock,  with  his  goings  established  in  righteousness 
and  true  holiness,  knows  that  grace  is  omnipresent 
to  save  the  lowest  and  most  degraded,  and  so  he 
labors  on  rescuing  the  lost,  lifting  up  the  fallen, 
turning  many  to  righteousness  who  "shall  shine  as 
the  stars  forever  and  ever."  But  for  such  workers 
our  whole  humanity  would  sink  to  fathomless 
depths  of  degradation.  It  is  only  such  that  go 
down  to  the  lower  stratas  of  social  life,  on  which 
really  all  above  depends,  and  raise  the  whole  by 
purifying  and  elevating  the  foundations.  We  can- 


WON    FOR    GOD.  175 

not  be  too  thankful  for  them,  nor  too  grateful  to 
them.  Illustrating  this,  on  the  2Gth  of  February 
he  makes  the  record  that  "I  had  three  of  the  sailors 
of  the  ship  M.  E.  Watson  to  spend  the  evening  at 
our  house.  Had  also  Miss  Nellie  Viggers  with  us. 
\Ye  had  some  good  singing  and  spent  a  most  pleas- 
ant time,  and  closed  with  some  refreshments  that 
wife  got  ready  for  us  and  a  precious  season  of 
prayer.  The  boys  left  for  their  ship,  which  lay  at 
the  Albina  dock,  very  much  pleased  with  their 
visit." 

After  such  an  evening  and  with  the  sacred  home- 
feeling  that  it  must  needs  have  inspired  in  their 
hearts,  these  boys  would  walk  safely  for  a  while 
amidst  any  temptations.  Only  those  who  never 
tried  these  holy  experiments  of  love  on  the  hearts 
and  lives  of  others  doubt  their  efficacy  to  save  even 
the  wayward  and  the  prodigal.  It  is  when  they  are 
out  in  the  cold  world  of  consuming  sin,  with  no 
Christly  hand  stretched  out  to  their  help,  and  no 
welcoming  home-door  opening  to  the  cheering  fel- 
lowship of  home-love  that  these  men  fall  such  easy 
victims  to  the  evils  that  allure  with  the  false  prom- 
ises and  counterfeit  seeming  of  that  which  the 
heart  so  deeply  craves. 


176  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHEK. 

"There  lies  at  the  bottom  of  each  man's  heart 
A  longing  and  love  for  the  good  and  pure; 
And  if  but  an  atom  or  larger  part 

I  tell  you  this  shall  endure,  endure, 
After  this  world  has  gone  to  decay; 
After  the  universe  passes  away 

The  longer  I  live  and  the  more  I  see 

Of  the  struggle  of  souls  towards  the  heights  above, 
The  more  this  truth  comes  home  to  me 

That  the  universe  rests  on  the  shoulders  of  Love: 
A  love  so  limitless,  deep  and  broad 

That  men  have  renamed  it  and  called  it  Love. 

—Ella  Wheeler  Wilcox. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

SHIT     WORK. 

"Ah!  ruy  jolly  tar.  hero  you  are  in  port  again.  God  bless 
you.  See  to  your  helm  and  you  will  see  a  fairer  port  by 
and  by.  Hark!  don't  you  hear  the  bells  of  Heaven  over 
the  sea?'1 

—Father  Taylor. 

A  MONG  the  important  services  rendered  by 
-*— *-  Mr.  Fletcher  to  the  seamen  visiting  Port- 
land was  the  procuring  the  passage  of  a  law  by  the 
legislature  of  Oregon  to  guard  them  from  that  sys- 
tem of  land-piracy  known  as  "sailor  snatching,"  or 
the  enticing  of  the  sailors  from  vessels  and  harbor- 
ing them,  and  then,  in  any  way  possible,  making 
merchandise  of  them  for  the  profit  of  the  pirate. 
Its  provisions  were  stringent,  and  the  penalty  of 
its  violation  was  both  fine  and  imprisonment. 
This  was  a  law  greatly  needed,  as  many  seamen 
fell  under  the  wiles  of  these  most  infamous 
wretches,  and  were  led  to  become  faithless  to  their 


178  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

own  honor  and  to  the  interests  of  those  in  whose 
service  they  were.  While  he  was  laboring  for  the 
spiritual  and  social  uplift  of  these  men  of  the  sea, 
there  was  no  danger  that  so  observant  and 
thoughtful  a  friend  would  fail  to  note  the  advant- 
age of  having  a  shield  of  law  spread  between  the 
sailor  and  his  enemy  and  destroyer.  Up  to  the 
winter  of  1888  and  1889  he  had  been  practically 
the  prey  of  these  spoilers.  Now  the  despoiler  him- 
self was  put  under  bonds  to  let  the  sailor  alone. 
The  results  of  this  enactment  were  exceedingly 
beneficial,  and  it  was  obvious  that  the  work  of 
spiritual  and  intellectual  culture  so  earnestly 
sought  by  Mr.  Fletcher  and  the  society  whose 
agent  he  was,  could  be  much  more  promisingly 
prosecuted  than  before.  This  bill,  and  Mr.  Fletch- 
er's agency  in  procuring  its  passage,  were  very 
highly  commended  by  the  American  Seaman's 
Friend  Society,  through  its  general  secretary,  Rev. 
W.  C.  Stitt. 

The  evangelist,  in  the  crowded  congregation, 
amid  the  exciting  accessories  of  music  and  song, 
of  prayer  and  appeal,  or  even  the  popular  preacher 
in  the  ordinary  pulpit  of  the  city,  would  be  likely 
to  account  the  daily  and  constant  plod  of  Mr. 


SHIP     WORK.  179 

Fletcher  among  the  careless  sailor-boys  aship  and 
ashore,  dull  and  profitless  work.  It  was  little  seen, 
not  much  heard  of,  but  it  is  very  doubtful  if  any 
pastor  in  the  city  or  any  evangelist  in  the  churches 
brought,  year  by  year,  so  many  individual  souls  to 
Christ  as  did  Mr.  Fletcher  during  the  years  we  have 
traced  his  history.  And  after  all,  it  is  these  indi- 
vidual souls  that  finally  make  up  the  aggregate  of 
the  great  power  and  life  of  the  church  of  God.  A 
single  grain  of  sand  cannot  shore  a  sea,  but  no  sea 
can  be  shored  without  the  single  grains  of  sand. 
A  single  atom  of  granite  cannot  make  a  great 
mountain,  but  no  great  mountain  can  be  lifted  to- 
wards the  sky  without  the  atom  of  granite.  One 
converted  man  cannot  make  a  great  church,  but  no 
great  church  can  be  made  without  the  converted 
man.  The  trumpet's  blare,  the  cymbals  clang,  the 
preacher's  rhetoric,  the  evangelist's  appeals,  the 
singer's  chorus,  all  and  each,  are  of  themselves 
nothing,  and  they  often  blare  and  clang  and  shout 
into  the  wind  for  naught.  But  when  a  man  like 
Mr.  Fletcher  sits  down  beside  a  sailor-boy  and  with 
the  strong  tug  of  his  loving  heart  draws  that  sail- 
or-boy's heart  to  Christ,  and  invites  him  with  a 
consciousness  of  his  own  redeemed  manhood,  and 


180  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

puts  him  among  God's  children  and  Christ's  follow- 
ers, something-  real  is  done;  a  soul  is  saved  from 
death,  a  new  power  for  good  is  loosened  in  the 
world  of  religious  dynamics. 

Over  and  over  this  fact  appears  to  us  as  we  read 
the  story  of  his  daily  work.     See: — 

"March  3,  1889.  Visited  the  ship  Hornsby  Castle,  over  at 
the  Albina  docks,  and  took  a  fine  lot  of  reading  to  both 
officers  and  men,  and  als«  invited  them  to  come  to  church 
to-morrow.  I  also  visited  the  bark  Gartmore,  which  leaves 
for  Astoria  to-morrow  morning  at  five  o'clock,  and  bade 
Mrs.  Richey,  the  wife  of  the  captain,  good-bye.  I  also  bade 
the  boys  good-bye.  Some  of  those  dear  boys  have  attended 
church  and  prayer  meeting  with  me  at  Grace  Church 
while  here  in  Portland.  I  always  like  to  keep  the  run  of 
these  dear  boys. 

March  31.  Sabbath  morning  I  visited  one  ship  and  talked 
with  the  officers  and  boys,  and  gave  them  reading  matter 
and  invited  them  to  church.  After  attending  to  my  ship- 
visiting  I  attended  Dr.  Dickson's  class  at  1  A.  M.  and  en- 
joyed a  most  precious  season  in  prayer  and  testimony. 
This  was  my  old  nine  o'clock  class  in  the  years  gone  by.  I 
met  some  of  my  old  classmates  that  used  to  meet  with  me 
then.  I  used  to  have  conversions  in  my  morning  class.  O 
how  many  of  these  dear  sailor  boys  I  used  to  gather  in 
with  me  in  the  class  on  Sunday  morning,  and  persuade 
them  to  give  their  hearts  to  Jesus;  and  I  can  say,  to  the 
praise  of  God,  that  not  a  few  of  them  went  out  of  that 
classroom  "new  creatures  in  Jesus  Christ."  Why  canno* 


SHIP    WORK.  181 

such  results  continue  if  we  make  such  efforts  to  secure 
them?  The  Lord  hasten  the  day  when  we  shall  see  them 
again!" 

Yes;  five  hundred  people  in  the  great  audience 
room,  an  eloquent  oration  in  the  lofty  pulpit,  grand 
music  in  the  orchestra;  and  in  an  hour  the  pleas- 
ing entertainment  over!  Down,  or  up,  in  a  little 
room,  a  consecrated  leader,  bowing  with  some  peni- 
tent hearts  at  the  mercy  seat,  teaching  some  in- 
quiring souls  the  straight  way  to  God,  and  in  an 
hour  leading  them  out  into  that  light  that  never 
was  seen  on  sea  or  land,  and  yet  is  the  Light  of 
Life!  What  a  difference.  Where  is  the  hiding  of 
God's  power?  In  that  little  room,  with  that  little 
band.  "There  is  joy  in  heaven  over  one  sinner 
that  repenteth." 

One  peculiarity  of  Mr.  Fletcher's  work,  as  indi- 
cated in  his  daily  record,  was  the  promptness  with 
which  he  always  attended  to  it.  Scarcely  had  a 
ship  dropped  her  anchors  in  the  river,  or  tied  up  to 
her  dock  before  he  was  on  her  deck.  Careful,  gen- 
tle, never  obtrusive,  he  was  apt  at  hand  to  render 
any  good  service  and  helpful  assistance  to  officers 
or  men.  Before  the  pirates  of  the  shore  had 
reached  them  he  had  pre-empted  their  attention. 


182  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

and  often  won  their  hearts.  He  shows  how  care- 
ful and  observant  he  was  in  this  regard  in  the  fol- 
lowing : — 

May  8.  Visited  the  bark  Earl  Duuraveii  this  morning, 
which  has  just  arrived  at  the  Albina  docks.  Had  an  inter- 
esting talk  with  officers  and  men  and  invited  them  to  our 
meetings  at  Grace  Church  while  they  remained  in  port. 
There  is  this  peculiarity  about  sailors:  if  I  can  get  them 
to  attend  service  on  arrival  they  will  attend  regularly  while 
in  port.  They  are  not  very  particular  as  to  what  church 
they  attend,  but  whichever  they  go  to  first  they  will  make 
their  church  home  while  they  remain.  I  got  a  good  many 
of  them  to  go  to  Grace  Church,  although  it  is  so  far  up 
town,  and  quite  away  from  their  latitude." 

Passing  on  May  12th,  the  29th  anniversary  of  his 
conversion,  Mr.  Fletcher  makes  most  grateful  men- 
tion of  it.  For  nearly  a  generation  he  has  lived 
and  wrought  and  talked  for  God  and  humanity. 
From  a  careless  rover  of  the  seas  he  had  become  a 
stable  citizen  of  the  "Land  of  the  free  and  the  home 
of  the  brave.''  From  a  prodigal  wasting  his  sub- 
stance in  riotous  living  he  had  become  the  owner 
of  a  good  home  and  a  fair  competence  of  the 
wealth  of  the  world.  He  had  found  a  home  in  the 
hearts  of  a  great  multitude  of  people  that  he  had 
led  to  Christ  in  the  citv  where  he  dwelt.  By  his 


SHIP    WORK.  183 

unwavering  fidelity  to  duty,  and  his  constantly  im- 
proving intellectual  and  spiritual  capability,  he  had 
secured  to  himself  the  friendship  and  trust  of  the 
good  people  of  all  denominations.  He  had  broken 
the  alabaster  box  of  precious  ointment  over  so 
many  hearts  and  lives  that  the  perfume  of  his  good 
deeds  filled  all  the  world  much  more  literally  than 
would  be  true  of  the  vast  majority  of  Christian 
men.  Surely  he  well  might  monument  with  praise 
and  song  the  day  on  whose  decision  all  this  blessed- 
ness and  all  this  success  in  life  turned.  Not  only 
thus,  but  it  were  but  natural  that  he  should  make 
it  a  day  of  new  consecration;  of  a  higher  uplook 
and  a  wider  outlook  for  his  future  life.  This  he 
did,  and  moved  out  into  that  future  life  with  the 
spirit  and  mien  of  a  conqueror.  He  did  this,  not 
by  becoming  exalted  above  the  work  he  had  been 
doing,  but  by  consecrating  himself  more  complete- 
ly, if  possible,  to  it.  So  he  says: — 

"Sabbath  morning,  May  26.  Visited  the  bark  Assaye, 
Captain  Ritchie.  He  is  a  Christian  captain.  I  distributed 
a  choice  selection  of  reading  matter,  both  forward  and  aft, 
and  spent  a  most  profitable  time  with  both  officers  and 
men  in  trying  to  persuade  them  to  become  sailors  for 
Jesus,  and  not  to  remain  in  the  Devil's  service  any  longer. 
I  find  on  nearly  every  ship  more  or  less  Christian  sailors. 


184  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

especially  this  last  year.  Captain  Ritchie,  who  was  raised 
a  Presbyterian,  told  me  how  much  he  enjoyed  the  services 
at  Taylor  Street  Church,  and  that  that  is  to  be  his  church 
while  in  port.  I  took  him  to  the  city  park  and  from  there 
to  my  home  for  lunch,  and  then  to  visit  the  new  High 
School  and  other  places,  which  he  was  greatly  delighted 
with." 

Not  long  after  the  last  date  there  occurred  one 
of  those  incidents  that  open  to  one's  view  the  sad 
vistas  of  so  many  lives.  Mr.  N.  L ,  a  respect- 
ed and  quite  prominent  resident  of  Salem,  Oregon, 
called  on  Mr.  Fletcher  to  make  inquiries  concern- 
ing his  son,  W.  L ,  who  had  run  away  from 

home,  and  the  father  had  heard  that  he  had  gone 
to  sea  on  the  Otterpool,  from  Astoria.  The  boy 
was  a  good  scholar,  and  the  father  and  family  had 
denied  themselves  of  many  of  even  the  necessaries 
of  life  to  educate  him.  He  could  get  sixty  dollars 
per  month  in  Salem.  Loved  and  cherished  at 
home,  educated  through  the  self-denial  of  his  fam- 
ily so  that  he  could  be  useful  and  honorable  in  the 
world,  he  had  fallen  into  the  ruinous  ways  of  im- 
moral youth  and  men  about  him,  and  had  cast  all 
his  own  prospects  and  all  his  family's  trust  and 
hope  to  the  winds  and  gone  off,  spurning  a 
mother's  prayers  and  a  father's  benedictions.  The 


SHIP    WORK.  185 

father  besought  Mr.  Fletcher's  help  to  find  some 
trace  of  his  lost  boy.  The  ship  Otterpool  had 
sailed  for  Londonderry,  and  Mr.  Fletcher  could  do 
no  more  than  write  to  the  captain  at  his  home  port. 
How  many  changes  and  chances  are  against  the 
future  of  all  such  young  men.  How  few  of  them 
ever  "recover  themselves  out  of  the  snare  of  the 
devil." 

On  the  first  day  of  August  Mr.  Fletcher  writes: 

"Visited  the  ship  Scottish  Glens  at  the  Albina  docks  and 
had  a  long  and  profitable  talk  with  Captain  Whiteford. 
He  is  an  Irishman  and  a  Roman  Catholic.  He  asked  me  if 
I  did  not  belong  to  the  Catholic  Church.  I  told  him  I  was 
brought  up  in  it,  and  then  I  told  him  some  of  my  experi- 
ences as  a  Methodist.  I  told  him  after  I  left  my  ship  in 
San  Francisco  how  I  went  to  the  mines,  and  through  the 
influence  of  a  Cornish  miner,  who  was  a  Wesleyan  local 
preacher,  I  gave  my  heart  to  God  and  became  a  Christian 
man.  My  experience,  I  trust,  did  him  good.  I  left  him  in 
a  good  humor,  and  he  earnestly  invited  me  to  make  him 
another  visit  before  he  left  port.  He  said  that  he  always 
read  all  the  magazines  and  papers  that  I  brought  him,  and 
was  very  glad  to  get  them. 

"August  15.  I  have  written  a  long  letter  to  Captain 
Morris  Evans,  of  the  ship  Otterpool,  to  Londonderry,  Ire- 
land, in  regard  to  the  young  man  mentioned  before.  Mr. 

I; desires  to  use  my  influence  with  Captain  Evans  to 

have  1he  young  man  return  home  as  soon  as  possible. 


186  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

"September  1st,  Sabbath  morning.  Visited  the  ship  Cam- 
brian Queen.  Had  a  close  conversation  with  Captain 
Thomas,  and  invited  him  to  Taylor  Street  Church  to  hear 
Bishop  Bowman  preach;  also  his  officers  and  men.  Some 
of  them  went  with  me,  and  more  came  a  little  later.  The 
Bishop  preached  a  most  soul-refreshing  sermon  from  "Bles- 
sed is  the  man  that  walketh  not  in  the  counsel  of  the  un- 
godly, nor  standeth  in  the  way  of  sinners,  nor  sitteth  in  the 
seat  of  the  scornful.  But  his  delight  is  in  the  law  of  the 
Lord  and  in  His  law  doth  he  meditate  day  and  night." 
The  church  was  crowded,  and  hundreds  had  to  be  turned 
away  for  want  of  room. 

"September  2.  Attended  the  services  of  the  Oregon 
Conference  to-day  and  heard  Dr.  H.  K.  Hines  give  one  of 
the  most  impressive  addresses  I  ever  heard  on  the  floor  of 
an  annual  conference,  in  behalf  of  a  theological  school  to 
be  established  in  connection  with  the  Willamette  Univer- 
sity. The  conference  closed  after  a  most  pleasant  session. 
May  the  blessed  Holy  Ghost  go  with  all  these  dear  men  of 
God  and  give  them  great  efficiency  and  power  during  the 
conference  year. 

"September  3.  I  settled  up  my  bank  account  and  left  ou 
deposit  one  thousand  dollars  at  five  per  cent,  per  annum. 
I  have  got  to  the  place  now  in  my  financial  matters  that  I 
have  been  working  ahead  for  for  some  years.  My  Heaven- 
ly Father  has  greatly  blessed  me  in  my  work  and  in  my 
health,  so  that  I  have  been  able  by  strict  economy  to  lay 
this  amount  by,  so  that,  in  God's  good  providence  myself 
nor  wife  should  be  disabled  by  sickness  we  should  have  this 
to  fall  back  upon,  and  not  be  dependent  on  any  one.  It  is 
all  the  Lord's,  and  shall  be  used  as  He  shall  direct." 


SHIP    WORK.  187 

This  is  a  statement  that  has  in  it  more  than  a 
mere  financial  exhibit.  This  young,  careless  sail- 
or, whose  entire  earnings  while  he  followed  the  sea 
were  absorbed  by  the  usual  course  of  evil  habits 
and  evil  companionship  that  keep  so  many  by  sea 
and  land  in  destitution  and  almost  beggary;  this 
miner  still  following  the  same  improvident  course, 
had  been  lifted  by  religion  out  of  all  these  habits 
that  so  sadly  despoiled  him,  and  put  upon  a  career 
of  industry  and  economy,  and,  not  only  so,  upon 
one  of  very  wide  usefulness,  and  now,  just  as  age 
was  beginning  to  gray  his  temples  had  made  him 
to  possess  a  fair  competency  of  the  good  of  this 
world.  It  was,  as  he  so  often  says,  all  of  God 
through  the  faithful  service  he  had  given  his  Heav- 
enly Father.  It  was  a  vindication  of  God's  prom- 
ise, made  of  old,  but  made  for  all  time,  "them  that 
honor  me  I  will  honor;  but  they  that  despise  me 
shall  be  lightly  esteemed." 


CHAPTER     XV. 

WIDENING    WORK. 

"Surpassing  grateful  for  this  friendly  light, 
I  baste  to  raise  it  to  a  flame  more  uright; 

And  lo!    it  grows 

Beneath  my  fostering  care  until  its  ray 
Illumines  far  and  wide  the  treacherous  way. 

Nor  limit  knows." 

—La  Tourette. 

r  I  ^  HE  autumn  of  1889  brought  a  large  increase 
-*•  of  the  merchant  fleet  to  the  port  of  Port-- 
land, and  consequently  added  largely  to  the  labors 
and  responsibility  of  Mr.  Fletcher.  With  the  cap- 
tains and  crews  of  the  vessels  that  had  been  annual 
visitors  for  years  he  had  formed  a  pleasant  and  use- 
ful acquaintance,  and  that  acquaintance  had  been 
the  means  of  making  his  character  and  work  well 
known  to  many  whom  he  had  never  seen,  and  they 
were  thus  prepared  to  receive  him  with  respect  and 
attention  on  their  arrival.  It  is  to  be  noted,  too, 
in  the  course  of  his  journal  that  there  were  many 


WIDENING     WORK.  189 

more  Christian  officers  and  men  of  the  vessels  than 
there  had  been  in  former  years.  Large  numbers 
of  these  had  been  converted  in  this  port,  and  main- 
ly under  his  influence  and  direction,  and  to  them  it 
was  a  kind  of  home-coming,  and  they  greeted  Port- 
land as  their  spiritual  birth-place,  and  Mr.  Fletcher 
as  their  spiritual  father.  The  relations  between 
himself  and  his  spiritual  children  grew  more  and 
more  tender  and  confiding,  and  his  influence  over 
them  more  and  more  helpful.  His  ceaseless,  un- 
wearied attention  to  them,  the  kindly  hospitality 
of  his  home,  the  soft  and  tender  tones  of  his  voice 
while  his  eyes  would  glisten  with  the  tear  of  sym- 
pathy and  solicitude,  drew  them  near  to  him,  and 
held  them  with  silken  cords  to  his  heart.  One  of 
the  most  familiar  sights  on  the  streets  of  Portland 
was  "Father  Fletcher,"  as  he  was  now  beginning 
to  be  called,  in  the  midst  of  a  company  of  his  "sail- 
or-lads," conversing  with  them  with  animated  and 
victorious  countenance,  guiding  them  away  from 
the  traps  and  pitfalls  that  were  set  on  every  side 
for  their  unwary  feet,  and  leading  them  towards  the 
safe  harbor  of  the  Bethel  or  the  Church.  "Jack" 
was  his  love,  and  helping  and  saving  him  was  the 
inspiration  of  his  life. 


190  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

During  the  month  of  September  he  visited  at 
least  two  ships  a  day,  conversing  with  officers  and 
men,  distributing  reading  and  looking  most  care- 
fully after  their  spiritual  and  temporal  interests; 
entertained  many  of  them  at  his  own  home,  intro- 
duced them  to  the  churches,  and  thus  put  a  bright 
spot  into  the  life  of  these  boys  and  men  that  would 
be  an  influence  for  help  to  them  ever  thereafter. 
On  the  6th  of  September  he  writes:— 

"I  visited  five  ships  and  had  two  of  the  apprentice  bo.ys 
of  the  Cambrian  Queen  spend  the  evening  with  us  at  our 
home.  On  going  to  their  ship  my  wife  gave  them  a  large 
basket  of  prunes  to  take  on  board  with  them,  so  that  all 
hands  might  have  a  good  'blow  out'  with  them.  These 
dear  boys  always  like  to  come  and  spend  an  evening  with 
us  at  our  home.  They  receive  so  little  kindness  either  on 
sea  or  shore  that  they  greatly  appreciate  that  that  we  are 
able  to  extend  to  them  while  here. 

"Met  Captain  Frazier  and  his  wife  on  shore.  They  at- 
tend Taylor  Street  Church  when  in  this  port,  and  the  Cap- 
tain always  has  services  on  board  his  ship  at  sea. 

"On  the  10th  I  visited  four  ships,  and  found  that  Mr. 
Elliot  and  Mr.  Dodson,  first  and  second  officers  of  the 
bark  'Star  of  Denmark,'  and  four  of  the  boys  went  to  Tay- 
lor Street  Church  Sunday  night.  They  are  Wesleyan  Meth- 
odists belonging  to  Belfast,  Ireland,  as  does  their  ship. 

"October  10th.  I  had  two  of  the  bark  Nagpore  boys, 
three  of  the  bark  British  Army  boys,  and  Mr.  Gunn,  the 


WIDENING    WORK.  191 

carpenter,  to  spend  the  evening  with  us  at  our  home.  Af- 
ter some  time  spent  in  singing  and  conversation,  wife  got 
the  boys  some  nice  refreshments,  which  they  greatly  en- 
joyed, after  which  I  read  a  chapter  of  Scripture  and  we 
had  a  season  of  prayer,  and  about  ten  o'clock  the  boys  left 
for  their  ships,  highly  pleased  with  their  visit,  and  promis- 
ing to  come  again  before  they  sailed  for  home.  I  receive 
many  letters  from  the  parents  of  these  boys  thanking  us 
for  our  kindness  to  them.  It  makes  us  happy  to  be  thus 
remembered  by  those  we  have  tried  to  'serve  in  the  Lord.' 

"October  30,  Sabbath.  I  visited  the  ship  Kooringa  and 
had  a  profitable  conversation  with  the  boys  and  men.  I 
had  thirteen  of  them  with  me  at  church  at  one  night  ser- 
vice. I  was  greatly  put  out  with  our  pastor.  I  had  asked 
him  several  times  to  remember  my  'sailor-boys,'  as  well 
ns  my  brethren  of  the  sea  in  his  public  prayers,  but  he, 
like  thousands  of  others,  seems  to  think  that  poor  Jack 
may  look  out  for  himself.  There  is  no  class  of  men  that 
deserves  more  sympathy  and  help  from  the  church  than 
sailors,  and  none  that  are  more  bold  and  steadfast  in  con- 
fessing Jesus  than  they.  Once  get  'Jack'  converted  and  ho 
will  stand  right  up  and  show  his  colors  in  any  port. 

"November  2.  We  buried  to-day  James  Henderson,  aged 
40  years,  of  London,  England.  He  leaves  a  wife  and  two 
children.  He  was  carpenter  of  the  ship  Herniione.  He 
died  while  I  had  hold  of  his  hand  talking  with  him.  I 
hope  the  dear  man  was  saved. 

"October  13.  I  had  a  long  talk  with  some  of  the  boys 
and  men  of  the  ship  'General  Filton,'  which  was  burned  off 
Cape  Horn  with  a  cargo  of  coal  on  board,  bound  for  the 
west  coast.  The  crew  had  a  very  narrow  escape,  for,  just 


192  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

as  the  fire  Avas  breaking  through  the  hatches,  the  ship 
'Glen  McPherson'  hove  in  sight,  and  took  all  hands  off. 
When  the  last  boat  left  the  burning  ship  she  was  one  sheet 
of  flanie.  The  'Glen  McPherson'  brought  all  the  officers  and 
crew  to  Portland.  There  were  twenty-two  of  them  on 
board.  ,  !SSl£f! 

"November  17.  Sabbath  morning  I  visited  the  bark  Glen- 
effice,  left  reading  matter  and  invited  the  boys  to  church. 
Visited  the  hospital  in  the  afternoon,  and  read  for  Brother 
Hoe  the  experience  of  Bishop  Foss  in  his  sickness,  some 
years  ago.  I  also  read  lor  him  the  14th  chapter  of  John 
and  had  a  precious  season  of  prayer  with  him.  We  had  a 
large  turnout  of  the  sailor-boys  at  the  services  at  Grace 
Church  at  night.  It  was  a  good  day  for  my  soul.  Praise 
the  Lord! 

"November  28,  Thanksgiving  Day.  It  has  been  a  very 
happy  day  to  me.  I  was  able  to  get  2G  of  my  young  sailor 
lads  to  attend  the  dinner  at  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  rooms.  They 
compared  very  favorably  with  any  other  26  lads  that  were 
there.  They  were  well  behaved  and  did  credit  to  them- 
selves. 

"December  1st.  Visited  the  ship  Eskdale,  Captain  Mur- 
dock.  He  was  here  six  years  ago  in  the  Eskdale.  as  was 
also  his  second  officer,  who  was  then  an  apprentice  in  her. 
I  had  a  long  talk  with  the  officers  and  men,  and  invited 
them  to  Grace  Church  for  the  night  service.  We  had  two 
from  the  'Clan  McPherson,'  two  from  the  'Ben  Nevis,'  four 
from  the  'General  Gordon,'  and  two  from  the  'Crown  of 
England.'  I  am  thankful  to  God  for  the  favor  He  gives  me 
with  these  dear  boys. 

"December  4.    Visited  four  ships,  and  met  with  one  of 


WIDENING    WORK.  193 

the  apprentice  boys  who  was  here  in  the  bark  Archer  six 
years  ago.  He  is  now  second  mate  of  the  ship  Clemioue. 
He  is  a  fine  young  fellow,  and  above  all  he  is  a  lover  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  That  is  the  reason  he  has  forged 
ahead  so,  and  I  would  not  wonder  to  see  him  master  of 
some  fine  ship  in  a  short  time. 

"December  G.  Visited  8  ships  and  bid  the  boys  of  the 
ship  'Crown  of  England'  good-bye,  as  they  are  going  away 
in  the  morning  for  England.  Myself  and  wife  have  enjoyed 
many  precious  visits  from  these  dear  boys  during  their  stay 
in  port.  One  young  lad  is  the  son  of  an  Episcopal  Bishop 
of  Cloyne,  Ireland.  I  know  well  where  it  is.  He  told  me 
that  three  years  ago  he  was  in  Nenagh,  within  two  miles  of 
where  I  was  born,  and  we  talked  of  many  places  I  used  to 
see  when  I  was  a  little  barefoot  boy  before  I  ran  away 
from  home  to  go  to  sea.  How  thankful  I  am  to  God  that 
His  kind  providence  has  been  over  me,  and  that  now,  in 
my  declining  years  He  has  placed  me  here  to  look  after 
these  dear  boys  and  keep  them  from  falling  into  the  hands 
of  wicked  men  while  in  port.  Another  one  of  the  boys  is 
the  son  of  Rev.  Mr.  Morris,  an  Episcopal  minister  at  Mil- 
ford  Haven,  Pembrokeshire,  and  I  am  to  write  to  his  fath- 
er about  his  far  away  boy." 

In  this  way  Mr.  Fletcher  closed  up  the  year 
1889.  His  work  among  the  seamen  had  never 
been  more  blest,  and  he  was  realizing  more  and 
more  the  results  of  his  earlier  and  more  difficult 
labors  among  them.  Much  of  the  seed  that  he 
had  so  industriously  and  prayerfully  cast  into  the 


194  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

hearts  of  his  "dear  lads  of  the  sea,"  years  ago  had 
sprung  up  and  grown  into  a  ripened  harvest,  and  he 
was  permitted  to  see  it  "after  many  days."  The 
increase  of  the  number  of  Christian  officers  and 
sailors  visiting  the  port  was  very  gratifying  to  him, 
and  the  more  especially  as  he  was  enabled  to  con- 
nect so  many  of  them  with  his  own  efforts  in  bring- 
ing them  to  Christ.  Connected  with  this  was  the 
completion  of  an  enterprise  in  which  his  heart  had 
been  deeply  interested  and  to  which  he  had  contri- 
buted to  the  amount  of  several  hundred  dollars  in 
money,  namely,  the  completion  and  dedication  of 
Grace  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  the  city  of 
Portland.  His  record  of  the  services  on  the  oc- 
casion shows  how  intensely  he  rejoiced,  especially 
under  the  influence  of  the  sermon  of  Rev.  G.  W. 
Izer,  D.  D.,  in  the  evening  of  the  day.  No  doubt 
a  large  part  of  his  joy  arose  from  the  fact  that 
Grace  Church,  while  in  their  small  chapel,  had  been 
very  hospitable  to  his  "sailor-boys,"  welcoming 
them  most  pleasantly  to  the  church  services,  as 
well  for  the  love  all  the  churches  bore  to  "Fathei 
Fletcher,"  as  for  the  good  they  could  do  to  sailors 
themselves.  This  interest  always  continued,  even 
after  the  society  was  housed  in  its  new  and  beauti- 


WIDENING    WORK.  195 

ful  house.  "Jack"  was  always  welcome  to  this 
beautiful  church  home.  Illustrating  the  results  of 
his  work  in  this  regard,  we  quote  from  his  journal 
of  February  9,  1890: 

''Sabbath  morning  I  visited  the  ship  Patterdnle  ami  spent 
a  pleasant  hour  with  Captain  Tuphain  and  his  officers  and 
uieu  and  boys.  The  captain  and  some  of  his  boys  came 
with  me  to  Grace  Church,  and  also  Captain  Steel  and  his 
wife  and  two  children,  of  the  bark  Lorton,  with  some  of  his 
boys;  and  at  night  we  had  Captain  Tupham  and  eight  or 
ten  from  other  ships.  I  praise  the  blessed  Holy  Spirit  who 
gives  me  so  much  favor  in  the  eyes  of  these,  my  shipmates 
and  brethren  of  the  sea. 

February  12th.  I  got  Captain  Tupham  to  come  with  me 
to  prayer  meeting  at  Grace  Church,  and  he  enjoyed  it  very 
much,  and  gave  us  a  good  exhortation.  He  is  a  good 
Christian  man  and  holds  services  every  Sabbath  on  his 
ship  at  sea,  when  the  weather  permits." 

About  this  time  a  change  was  made  in  the  chap- 
laincy of  the  Seaman's  Bethel,  Chaplain  Gilpin  be- 
ing relieved  and  ordered  back  to  England.  His 
personal  peculiarities  had  greatly  retarded  the 
Bethel  work  since  his  appointment,  and,  in  fact,  the 
success  of  Mr.  Fletcher  in  his  ship  work  and  among 
the  longshoremen  was  all  that  prevented  a  com- 
plete failure  of  the  work  for  seamen  in  the  port  of 
Portland  for  all  the  time  that  Mr.  Gilpin  had  oc- 


19G  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

cupied  the  post  of  chaplain.  Even  Mr.  Fletcher's 
work  was  not  nearly  as  successful  as  it  would  have 
been  had  such  a  chaplain  occupied  the  Bethel  as 
would  have  secured  the  confidence  of  the  seamen 
and  the  respect  of  the  general  public.  As  it  was  he 
had  to  overcome  the  prejudice  the  men  and  officers 
felt  against  the  chaplain  before  he  could  greatly 
influence  them  for  good.  A  man  of  less  excellent 
character  and  less  tender  and  sympathizing  nature 
than  Mr.  Fletcher  would  have  failed  utterly  where 
he  succeeded  in  accomplishing  so  much.  The 
method  and  spirit  of  his  work  are  shown  in  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  his  annual  report  to  the  Sea- 
man's Bethel  Society,  rendered  in  May,  1890: — 

"The  year  has  been  oiie  of  much  profit,  I  trust,  iu  my 
work.  Not  having  any  preaching  in  our  old  Bethel  or  on 
shipboard  by  Chaplain  Gilpiu,  I  have  been  enabled  to  get 
quite  a  large  number  of  the  officers  and  apprentice  boys  to 
attend  services  in  the  different  churches.  The  reason  so 
few  sailors  from  the  forecastle  are  found  in  our  church 
services  is  their  want  of  suitable  clothing.  They  Avill  not 
attend  the  church  services  in  their  shirt  sleeves,  yet  that 
would  not  hinder  them  from  attending  the  Bethel,  as  they 
look  upon  that  as  their  own  church.  1  have  made  574 
visits  to  the  ships  and  supplied  every  ship  with  a  choice 
package  of  reading  matter,  as  well  as  held  conversations 
with  many  of  the  officers,  sailors  and  apprentice  boys.  I 


WIDENING    WORK.  197 

have  made  67  visits  to  the  hospitals,  and  attended  three 
funerals  of  seamen.  Twenty-seven  apprentice  boys  ami 
some  officers  attended  with  me  the  Thanksgiving  dinner 
given  by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  at  their  hall.  *  *  *  I  have  had 
four  visits  from  Captains  and  eleven  from  officers  and 
forty-one  from  the  apprentice  boys  at  my  home  to  spend 
social  evenings  with  us;  my  wife  always  providing  re- 
freshments for  them,  and  we  always  ending  by  reading  a 
portion  of  Scripture  and  prayer,  by  which  I  try  to  benefit 
the  dear  boys  that  come  here  in  ships.  I  also  keep  up  a 
correspondence  with  many  of  the  officers  and  boys,  and  re- 
ceive many  grateful  letters  from  them,  which  greatly  en- 
courage me  in  my  work.  I  return  thanks  to  the  many 
Christian  families  in  Portland  for  the  abundant  supply  of 
excellent  reading  matter  they  have  given  me  for  my  sea- 
man's work.  *  *  *  *  By  the  opening  of  our  new  Bethel  with 
a  new  and  efficient  chaplain,  I  look  forward  to  the  building 
up  of  a  large  society  in  the  north  end  of  our  city.  I  am 
thankful  to  God  for  the  favor  He  has  given  me  with  the 
officers,  seamen  and  apprentice  boys  while  visiting  their 
ships." 

This  brief  summary  of  the  work  done  by  him 
during  the  year  exhibits  only  that  part  of  the  work 
that  can  be  counted  in  numbers.  But  the  greatest 
good  of  all  his  work  was  in  that  department  that 
cannot  be  seen  nor  counted,  in  the  souls  saved  and 
the  lives  uplifted  by  his  instrumentality. 

"This  will  survive  the  empire  of  decay, 
When  cold  in  dust  his  buried  heart  will  lay." 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

BETHEL  WORK  REVIVING. 

"Prayer  is  the  tide  for  which  the  vessels  wait 

Ere  they  come  to  Port,  and  if  it  be 
The  tide  is  low,  then  how  canst  thou  expect 

The  treasure  ship  to  see?" 

IN  the  early  part  of  1891  a  new  chaplain,  Rev. 
Richard  Hayes,  a  Presbyterian  minister  from 
Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  arrived  to  take  charge  of  the 
Bethel  work  in  Portland,  in  connection  with  the 
Bethany  Mission  of  that  church  in  the  north  end 
of  the  city.  This  was  a  matter  of  great  satisfac- 
tion to  Mr.  Fletcher.  For  a  long  time,  not  only  had 
nothing  been  accomplished  in  the  immediate  work 
of  the  Bethel,  but  its  influence  had  been  detrimen- 
tal to  the  missionary  work  of  Mr.  Fletcher.  Mr. 
Hayes  had  had  no  experience  in  seaman's  work, 
but  he  was  a  man  of  good  abilities,  and  a  sincere 
and  devoted  Christian,  and  of  a  kind  and  gentle 
spirit,  and  was  well  adapted  to  the  work  to  which 


BETHEL    WORK    REVIVING.  199 

he  had  been  assigned.  Mr.  Fletcher  entered  hear- 
tily into  his  plans,  gave  him  all  the  assistance  in  his 
power  in  every  way,  and  thus  enabled  him  to  reach 
the  sailors  fore  and  aft  readily  and  efficiently.  He 
made  a  most  excellent  impression  on  the  mind  of 
Mr.  Fletcher  as  a  man,  a  minister,  and  as  to  his 
adaptation  to  the  seaman's  work.  He  says  of  Mr. 
Hayes:  "He  makes  a  fine  chaplain,  both  officers 
and  sailors  taking  kindly  to  him.''  Indeed,  Mr. 
Fletcher,  in  recording  a  visit  of  Chaplain  Hayes 
and  his  wife  at  his  own  home,  says  that  "the  chap- 
lain and  his  wife  and  daughter,  seventeen  years  of 
age,  are  well  adapted  to  the  Bethel  work.  I  think 
he  is  the  best  preacher,  and  the  most  spiritual  one 
in  the  city,  and  the  Lord  is  greatly  blessing  his 
work  at  the  'north  end.'  ' 

Within  a  few  weeks  after  the  chaplain's  arrival  a 
"ten  day's  meeting  was  held  at  the  Bethel.  At  the 
first  service,  of  which  there  was  a  large  attendance, 
and  several  arose  for  prayers.  The  meeting  result- 
ed in  a  very  marked  revival,  not  far  from  forty  be- 
ing converted,  and  the  entire  Bethel  work  being 
greatly  strengthened.  Mr.  Fletcher  records  the 
conversion  of  one  "fine  young  Irishman,  who  was 
educated  a  Catholic  priest."  Mr.  Fletcher's  own 


200  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

deliverance  from  Catholicism  disposed  him  always 
to  the  most  kindly  efforts  for  the  deliverance  of 
others,  and  he  greatly  rejoiced  when  one  was 
brought  into  the  conscious  "freedom  of  the  sons  of 
God." 

Mr.  Fletcher's  records  of  ship  visitation  during 
the  autumn  of  1891  show  most  clearly  how  very 
deeply  the  minds  and  hearts  of  his  beloved  "sailor- 
boys"  had  been  affected  by  his  work  and  that  of  the 
new  chaplain  of  the  Bethel.  Some  of  these  records 
should  be  given: — 

"October  14.  We  had  a  most  blessed  time  last  night  at 
our  prayer  meeting  at  the  Bethel.  All  the  boys  of  the 
crew  of  the  ship  Silver  Stream,  and  five  of  them  go 
home  in  her  as  Christian  men,  and  four  others  asked 
our  prayers.  Visited  the  bark  Cumbrian,  Captain  Lorton. 
Found  him  to  be  a  Christian  man.  We  had  nine  of  his 
crew  and  five  of  Blythwood's  crew  at  our  Bethel  service  at 
night. 

"November  1st.  This  has  been  one  of  our  best  Sabbaths 
at  the  Bethel.  We  had  fine  congregations  both  morning 
and  evening.  We  had  three  captains  and  a  good  many  of 
our  sailors  in  attendance.  Our  chaplain  ahvays  gives  an 
invitation  to  all  who  want  to  seek  salvation  to  manifest  it 
by  rising  to  their  feet  at  the  close  of  our  services.  Four 
young  men  arose  for  prayers,  and  in  our  after-meeting 
came  forward  to  the  altar  and  three  of  them  gave  their 


BETHEL    WORK    REVIVING.  201 

hearts  to  Jesus,  and  the  other  one  I  hope  is  not  far  from 
the  kingdom. 

"Fourth.  Visited  the  four  masted  ship  Principality.  Cap 
tain  Jones,  and  met  one  of  my  boys  that  was  here  two 
years  ago  in  the  ship  Euersdale,  as  an  apprentice.  He  is 
now  second  mate  of  this  tine  ship.  I  am  so  glad  to  see  so 
many  of  my  dear  boys  'forging  ahead,'  and  looking  to  be- 
come masters.  May  the  Lord  bless  them." 

The  influences  of  the  life  and  example  of  Mr. 
Fletcher  upon  the  ambition  of  these  young  sailor 
boys,  and  the  constant  and  affectionate  attention 
that  he  and  his  wife  gave  them  while  in  port,  assid- 
uously endeavoring  to  lead  them  to  an  earnest 
Christian  life,  accounts  largely  for  the  splendid  pro- 
gress so  many  of  them  made  in  their  profession. 
Those  of  them  who  became  Christians  at  once 
gained  a  standing  with  those  who  employed  them, 
and  if  they  had  the  intelligence  for  higher  service 
they  were  sure  soon  to  rise  to  it.  A  sailor  is  not 
necessarily  able  to  take  command  of  a  ship  because 
he  is  a  Christian;  but  a  Christian  young  sailor  is 
far  more  likely  to  soon  become  able  to  do  so  than 
one  who  is  not.  He  is  more  studious  and  steady, 
has  a  sense  of  duty  that  the  other  has  not,  wins  the 
confidence  of  his  employers  by  his  trustworthiness, 
and  soon  finds  himself  well  up  towards  the  respon- 


202  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

sibility  and  opportunity  of  command,  while  the 
others  grope  and  tug  before  the  mast  from  year  to 
year  until  all  aspiration  dies  out  of  the  heart,  and 
they  give  up  the  struggle  of  life  to  what  they  call 
"fate,"  but  which  is  really  only  folly.  The  one 
thing  that  made  the  uneducated  and  careless  sailor 
boy,  "Bill  Fletcher,"  the  esteemed  and  honored 
citizen,  the  earnest  and  successful  "seaman's  mis- 
sionary'' for  more  than  forty  years  in  one  of  the 
great  ports  of  America,  made  many  of  these  "cab- 
in boys"  and  "forecastle  lads"  officers  and  comman- 
ders of  great  ships,  and  that  one  thing  was  Relig- 
ion ;  the  love  of  Christ  and  the  service  of  God. 

"November  29.  This  has  been  another  good  day  in  our 
Bethel  services.  At  the  night  service  we  had  a  large  con- 
gregation, and  at  the  after-meeting  six  came  to  the  altar 
for  prayers,  four  of  whom  were  my  sailor-boys.  Three  of 
them  gave  their  hearts  to  Jesus,  and  have  taken  Him  as  the 
great  'Captain  of  their  Salvation,'  for  the  remainder  of 
their  voyage  of  life.  I  told  them  that  with  Christ  in  the 
vessel  they  could  smile  at  the  storm. 

"January  3,  1892.  Sabbath  morning.  Visited  the  ship 
Kirkciidbrightshire,  Captain  Furdy.  He  has  his  wife  and 
child  on  board  with  him.  I  left  them  i-eading  and  picture 
cards,  and  invited  them  to  our  services,  then  went  forward 
and  spoke  to  the  men  and  had  a  good  time  with  them,  and 
got  several  of  them  to  go  to  the  services  with  me.  As  this 


BETHEL    WORK    REVIVING.  203 

is  the  week  of  prayer  we  will  hold  services  every  night. 
We  had  one  of  the  best  congregations  to-night  that  I  have 
ever  seen  at  our  Bethel.  Fully  forty  of  our  sailors  were 
with  us  in  our  after-meeting.  Twenty  came  to  the  altar 
for  prayer,  among  whom  were  ten  of  our  sailors.  How  my 
heart  leaped  for  joy  as  1  bowed  with  them  in  prayer  to 
(Jod.  and  before  the  meeting  closed  to  hear  from  their  own 
lips  that  Jesus  had  pardoned  their  sins  and  they  had  taken 
Him  as  their  companion  and  friend  for  the  remainder  of 
the  vovage  of  life." 


This  character  of  work  continued  steadily  day 
after  day,  week  after  week,  and  month  after  month; 
illustrating  the  peculiar  tenacity  and  fixedness  of 
the  character  of  Mr.  Fletcher.  "His  heart  was 
fixed,  trusting  in  the  Lord."  Whether  others  were 
faithful  or  faithless,  earnest  or  negligent,  he  never 
faltered  nor  turned  back.  His  heart  was  ever  go- 
ing forth  in  quest  of  his  oft-mentioned  "brethren 
of  the  sea."  and  his  steps  were  never  so  light  as 
when  he  was  piloting  them  to  the  house  of  the 
Lord,  or  guiding  them  to  a  resting  place  in  the 
shadow  of  the  sanctuary  of  God. 

In  July,  1892,  he  was  granted,  in  the  kind  provi- 
dence of  God.  an  unspeakable  satisfaction  in  meet- 
ing the  devoted  Christian  woman,  who,  thirty-two 
years  before,  was  the  instrument  of  guiding  his  dark 


204  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

and  ignorant  soul  to  the  Saviour  in  the  wild  moun- 
tains of  California,  and  whom  he  had  not  seen  for 
nearly  thirty  years,  Mrs.  Renny,  whose  name  the 
reader  will  recollect  in  the  early  part  of  this  narra- 
tive. Herself  and  husband,  passing  through  the 
city,  took  pains  to  seek  out  their  old  mining  friend, 
and  for  a  few  hours  there  was  such  an  interchange 
of  heart  as  does  not  often  come  in  the  lives  of  wan- 
dering mortals.  Old  hours  were  new  again;  old 
but  not  forgotten  loves  were  rekindled,  old  songs 
were  sung,  and  with  a  newer,  sweeter  life,  both 
went  on  their  way  to  the  final  reunion  where  there 
will  be  no  separation.  It  will  come  at  last. 

"There  union  shall  be  sweet, 
At  the  dear  Redeemer's  feet, 
When  they  meet  to  part  no  rnpre, 
Who  have  loved." 

The  closing  up  of  this  year  in  the  work  of  the 
Bethel  with  which  Mr.  Fletcher's  ship  work  was  so 
closely  identified,  showed  it  to  have  been  a  year  of 
signal  prosperity.  The  annual  meeting  of  the 
Bethel  Society  occurred  in  March,  and  the  reports 
of  Chaplain  Hayes  and  Missionary  Fletcher  showed 
that  more  than  1200  seamen  had  attended  the  ser- 
vices, and  over  100  sailors  had  been  converted  in  the 


BETHEL    WORK    REVIVING.  205 

meetings.  The  reports  throughout  were  of  the 
most  encouraging  character.  Mr.  Hayes  makes 
special  mention  of  the  labors  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  "who 
has  performed  his  duties,  not  of  labor,  but  of  love, 
faithfully  and  well."  It  had  been  a  very  happy 
year  to  Mr.  Fletcher.  The  change  in  the  chap- 
laincy had  brought  spirituality  and  life,  where  there 
had  been  formality  and  death.  It  was  no  longer 
necessary  for  him  to  try  to  get  his  "sailor-lads" 
from  the  forecastle  to  the  cushioned  pew  of  the 
fine  church  among  a  fashionable  congregation  in 
order  to  bring  them  under  the  influence  of  a  gospel 
that  would  save.  They  were  far  more  ready  to  go 
to  their  own  church,  the  Bethel,  where  they  felt 
much  more  at  home,  and  where,  during  the  past 
year,  they  were  sure  to  have  a  pure  gospel  interest- 
ingly and  lovingly  preached,  and  where  a  warm- 
hearted chaplain  was  as  ready  to  speak  the  kindly- 
word  to  "Jack"  in  his  shirt-sleeves  as  he  was  to  ad- 
dress the  "gentleman"  in  broadcloth,  and  where 
such  kind-faced  saints  as  "Father  and  Grandma 
Fletcher"  were  ever  ready  to  give  him  the  help  and 
hope  that  only  true  love  can  give  another.  At 
these  Bethel  services  he  reaped  the  results  of  his 
sowing  of  the  seeds  on  the  decks  of  the  ships  among 


20(i  WILLIAM   S.   FLETCHEK. 

"the  sailor-lads,"  and  gathered  many  a  sheaf  into 
Christ's  garner,  the  seed  for  whose  growth  had 
been  sown  in  some  kind  word  spoken,  some  leaflet 
put  in  the  hand,  some  smile  written  on  the  sailor  - 
boy's  heart  in  the  forecastle.  His  work  was  helped 
now,  not  hindered,  by  the  spirit  and  work  of  the 
chaplain  and  his  family.  It  was  all  a  joy  and  de- 
light, and  Mr.  Fletcher's  heart  was  filled  with  grat- 
itude and  his  life  with  praise. 

Sufficient  time  had  now  elapsed  since  Mr. 
Fletcher  began  his  work  among  the  young  seamen 
and  apprentice  boys  on  the  ships  visiting  Portland 
for  him  to  begin  to  see  the  splendid  results  of  that 
work.  Some,  of  whom  we  have  spoken  in  our  ear- 
lier pages  as  being  led  by  him  to  the  services  of  the 
church  and  the  Bethel  and  there  yielding  their 
young  heart's  to  God,  are  now  reappearing  in  posi- 
tions of  trust  and  confidence,  still  steadfast  in  their 
Christian  faith  and  abounding  in  the  work  of  the 
Lord.  Some  reference  to  some  of  them,  indicating 
the  mutual  affection  existing  between  them,  may 
profitably  be  made.  Thus  he  speaks: — 

"August  4th.  I  have  written  a  long  letter  to  Hughie 
McLean,  one  of  nay  sailor  boys  who  is  now  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, in  his  old  ship,  City  of  Madras,  as  her  second  officer. 


BETHEL  WORK  REVIVING.  207 

Hughie  is  a  tiue  Christian  boy  of  a  good  family  in  Eng- 
land. I  expect  to  see  him  captain  of  some  large  ship  yet. 
How  I  love  to  see  these  dear  boys  forging  ahead.  I  have 
seen  many  of  them  come  here  in  their  ships  wicked  and 
godless,  and  after  being  with  us  a  few  weeks  go  home  in 
their  ships  Christian  boys.  I  trust,  by  my  humble  efforts  in 
leading  them  to  Christ  while  here  in  port. 

"September  24.  Sabbath  morning.  Visited  the  ship  City 
of  York,  Captain  Jones.  He  is  a  new  captain.  She  was  here 
on  her  last  voyage  and  three  of  our  Christian  boys  are  yet 
on  her.  I  was  glad  to  find  them  still  faithful  to  Jesus  as 
their  Captain,  and  they  were  glad  to  be  at  our  services 
again.  At  one  night  service  Mr.  Francis  Millman.  third 
mate  of  the  ship  Vandurara.  united  with  us  and  will  take  a 
letter  from  us  home.  We  also  had  another  of  the  boys  of 
the  bark  Forfarshire  converted  at  our  night  service.  This 
makes  five  of  her  boys  that  have  been  converted  since  she 
came  to  Portland  this  time.  This  has  been  the  best  voy- 
age these  boys  have  ever  made,  and  they  will  never  forget 
Portland  as  their  spiritual  birthplace." 

During  the  remainder  of  the  year  1893,  about 
three  months,  Mr.  Fletcher  was  very  actively  en- 
gaged in  visiting  ships,  distributing  reading  mat- 
ter among  the  sailors,  inviting  officers  and  men  to 
the  services  at  the  Bethel,  and  in  every  way  helping 
forward  the  "men  of  the  sea"  in  the  good  life.  He 
made  not  less  than  a  hundred  visits  to  ships,  and 
records  the  conversion  of  a  large  number  of  sailor- 


208  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

boys.  The  year  closed  most  prosperously  for  the 
Bethel  work.  The  year  went  out  on  a  Sabbath, 
and  Mr.  Fletcher  makes  this  record  of  its  closing 
day: — 

"Sabbath  morning.  Visited  the  bark  Arnubree,  Captain 
Steel.  I  had  a  good  visit  with  the  captain.  He  visited  this 
port  on  his  last  voyage.  He  has  new  officers  with  him  this 
time,  and  only  two  of  his  old  boys  are  with  him  on  board. 
The  morning  being  stormy,  we  only  had  a  small  turnout  at 
our  service,  but  at  night  we  had  a  full  house,  with  a  large 
number  of  our  officers  and  seamen.  Our  chaplain  preached 
a  good,  strong  sermon  from  Isaiah  i,  18:  "Come  now,  and 
let  us  reason  together,  saith  the  Lord;  though  your  sins 
be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow;  though  they 
be  red  like  crimson,  they  shall  be  as  wool.'  At  the  close  at 
least  thirty  arose  for  prayers,  and  eternity  alone  can  re- 
veal the  good  that  was  done.  The  year  is  closing  up  well 
with  us  in  our  Bethel  work.  I  praise  God  for  the  favor  He 
has  given  us  with  our  brethren  of  the  sea." 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

SOWING     AND     REAPING. 

"We  must  be  here  to  work. 

And  men  who  work  can  only  work  for  men, 

And,  not  to  work  in  vain,  must  comprehend 

Humanity,  and  so,  work  humanly. 

And  raise  men's  bodies  still  by  raising  souls. 

As  God  did,  first." 

—Mrs.  Browning. 

"^  HE  whole  course  of  this  narrative  illustrates 
how  clearly  Mr.  Fletcher  comprehended 
the  motives  and  purposes  of  the  average  man,  and 
how  skillfully  he  was  able  to  appeal  to  him  for  his 
good.  He  worked  humanly  and  yet  with  a  divine 
intent.  Always  watching  for  an  opportunity  to 
do  more  good,  he  was  never  obtrusive  in  his  ap- 
proaches. When  on  shipboard  he  never,  in  the 
slightest  degree,  interfered  with  the  men  when 
they  were  employed.  The  officers  soon  learned 
that  not  only  did  his  presence  not  interfere  with 
the  attention  that  the  sailors  were  expected  to  give 


210  WILLIAM   S.   FLETCHER. 

to  their  duties,  but  that  his  example  of  precision 
and  care  was  a  real  benefit  to  them.  Many  officers 
who  paid  little  or  no  attention  personally  to  his 
teaching  soon  learned  to  welcome  his  coming 
among  the  sailors  because  they  were  the  more  at- 
tentive and  tractable  for  his  presence.  This  was 
the  highest  possible  testimony  to  his  worth,  as,  in 
fact,  it  was  to  the  things  he  taught.  His  own  life, 
through  the  very  reaction  of  his  faith  on  himself, 
was  rounding  constantly  into  a  more  complete  and 
symmetrical  fulness,  and  all  men  "took  knowledge 
of  him  that  he  had  been  with  Jesus."  He  did  not 
depend  on  his  own  eloquence  of  speech,  nor  on  any 
power  of  personal  appeal,  nor  yet  on  any  worldly 
influence  that  he  could  command  to  dispose  men  to 
enter  a  new  life,  but  he  tried  simply  to  introduce 
them  to  Christ,  and  then  trusted  to  the  power  of 
the  Divine  Spirit  to  make  his  instrumentality  sav- 
ingly effective  in  their  salvation.  His  success  in 
his  simple  methods  was  often  marvelous,  so  that  he 
was  really  a  divinely  accredited  evangelist  without 
any  of  the  professional  evangelist's  conceit  and  pre- 
tense. He  wrote  his  name  not  so  much  on  the 
pages  of  the  public  prints  as  on  the  living  hearts 
of  the  men  he  so  earnestly  and  lovingly  sought  to 


SOWING    AND   TIKAPIMJ.  211 

bring  to  Christ.  He  could  not  but  be  conscious 
of  his  influence  over  the  men  of  the  sea,  but  it  did 
not  exalt  him,  though  it  kindled  the  deepest  grat- 
itude in  his  heart.  As  the  years  wore  on,  and  the 
number  of  those  converted  by  his  instrumentality 
multiplied,  his  home  in  Portland  became  more  and 
more  a  Mecca  to  sailors,  officers  and  masters  of 
ships  from  all  over  the  seas,  and  in  it  Mr.  Fletcher 
and  his  wife  dispensed  to  them  all  a  simple,  charm- 
ing hospitality,  that  was  always  sancitfied  by  the 
presence  and  Spirit  of  Him  who  stilled  the  waves 
and  hushed  the  storms  of  Gallilee,  and  they  looked 
with  an  ever  increasing  affection  on  the  man  who 
had  led  them  to  the  peace  which  His  presence  im- 
parts. Masters  of  ships,  whom,  as  wild,  wayward 
sailor  boys,  he  had  led  to  Christ,  and  then  watched 
over  tenderly  while  in  port,  following  them  with 
letters  after  they  had  gone  away  over  the  seas  filled 
with  counsel  and  encouragement,  came  back  again 
to  crown  his  aging  brow  with  the  garlands  of  their 
gratitude  and  bless  his  ever-young  heart  with  their 
benedictions. 

Tn  the  report  of  the  work  of  the  Bethel  for  1894 
occurs  this  significant  sentence:  "The  number  of 
vessels  in  port  has  not  been  as  large  this  year  as 


212  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

last,  but  one  hundred  and  five  have  professed  faith 
in  Jesus,  and  trust  in  Him  above  for  salvation.  It 
has  not  been  an  unusual  thing  to  see  captain  and 
officers  of  the  same  ship  making  profession  of  their 
faith  and  to  hear  their  voices  in  prayer  as  they  met 
with  us  in  the  house  of  the  God."  While  we  do 
not  claim  all  this  as  the  result  of  Mr.  Fletcher's  la- 
bors alone,  still  for  many  years  he  had  been  the 
moral  centre  around  which  this  great  work  had 
gathered,  and  without  him  it  could  not  have  been. 

Early  in  the  autumn  of  this  year  the  health  of 
Mrs.  Fletcher  began  to  fail  under  the  influence  of 
advancing  years,  and  she  was  compelled  to  spend 
several  weeks  in  the  hospital  under  the  care  of 
trained  nurses  and  skillful  physicians.  His  care  of 
her  and  attention  to  all  her  wants  was  marked  by 
especial  tenderness,  and,  added  to  the  unrelaxed 
calls  of  his  work  among  his  sailor-boys,  pressed  his 
vigorous  body  and  busy  mind  to  their  utmost. 
Yet  no  duty  was  neglected  and  no  call  of  affection 
unheeded.  His  strength  was  as  his  day,  and  re- 
joicingly he  bore  his  burdens  of  duty  and  love  on- 
ward by  the  ever-present  help  of  Him  who  helpeth 
man. 

Among  the  many  plans  for  the  happiness  and  im- 


SOWING   AND  REAPING.  213 

provement  of  his  "sailor-boys,"  in  which  Mr. 
Fletcher  took  a  deep  interest  was  the  opening  of  a 
"Reading  Room"  in  the  Mariner's  Home.  About 
the  close  of  November,  1894,  it  was  completed, 
well  furnished  with  books  and  periodicals,  and 
ready  to  be  dedicated  to  its  intended  use.  A  large 
gathering  of  the  pastors  and  members  of  the  vari- 
ous churches  of  the  city  was  in  attendance,  togeth- 
er with  many  officers  and  sailors  from  the  ships  in 
port,  and  with  speeches  and  songs  and  good  cheer 
it  was  set  apart  to  its  beneficent  work.  This  was  a 
very  pleasant  and  helpful  resort  for  seamen,  taking 
them  away  from  those  places  for  drinking  and  gam- 
bling which  always  abound  in  seaport  towns,  and 
surrounding  them  with  a  refining  Christian  in- 
fluence and  a  pure  religious  life. 

The  annual  merchant  fleet  that  reached  Portland 
this  fall  was  so  large,  and  Mr.  Fletcher's  visits  to 
them  so  numerous  that  it  is  impossible  to  give 
more  than  an  occasional  reference  to  them.  On 
the  27th  of  January,  1895,  he  writes: — 

"Visited  the  ship  Carnarvon  Bay.  I  met  her  owner,  who 
is  here  on  a  visit.  He  is  a  Welshman,  and  owns  several 
ships,  and  is  here  looking  after  their  interests.  He  is  a 
j;ood  Christian  man,  and  told  me  he  had  just  discharged 


214  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

the  captain  of  this  ship  for  drunkenness,  and  sent  him 
home.  He  wanted  me  to  look  after  his  hoys  for  him  while 
they  were  in  port.  At  our  night  service  in  the  Bethel  we 
had  over  sixty  officers  and  seamen  present.  I  gave  them  a 
fifteen  minutes  exhortation.  The  blessed  Holy  Spirit  great- 
ly helped  me  in  urging  upon  them  His  service. 

"February  20th.  Visited  six  ships  at  the  Albina  docks 
and  met  some  of  the  boys  that  were  here  three  years  ago. 
Some  of  them  were  converted  while  here  then,  and  they  are 
still  faithful  to  Jesus  as  the  Captain  of  their  salvation. 
Out  of  all  the  young  men  and  boys  that  have  been  con- 
verted while  here  in  Portland  with  us,  I  have  not  found 
one  that  has  backslidden;  all  have  been  faithful,  and  some 
of  them  have  done  good  work  in  the  saving  of  their  ship- 
mates on  the  way  home  from  here.  It  is  a  great  comfort 
to  me  to  know  that  my  humble  labor  for  them  has  not  been 
in  vain.  So  I  thank  God  and  take  courage." 

In  this  connection  it  is  proper  to  notice  the  re- 
port of  the  Rev.  W.  O.  Forbes,  who  had  taken  the 
place  of  the  former  successful  chaplain.  Rev.  Mr. 
Hayes,  in  which  he  speaks  very  approvingly  of  the 
work  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  relating  especially  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Reading  Rooms  which  had  come  to 
be  called  the  Seaman's  Institute.  He  says: — 

"That  the  work  has  been  appreciated  may  be  seen  not 
only  from  the  attendance,  but  from  the  numerous  letters 
that  have  been  received  from  seamen  after  leaving.  Here 
are  a  few  of  these  testimonials:  A  chief  officer  says:  'I  am 
only  sorry  I  did  not  go  to  the  institute  sooner.  It  seems 


SOWING   AM)   UK  APING.  213 

now  more  like  leaving  home  than  going  home.  B«  sure 
the  next  time  I  come  to  Portland  che  first  place  I  make  for 
will  be  the  mission.'  An  apprentice  writes:  'I  have  never 
been  in  a  port  where  the  boys  have  been  so  well  cared  for 
as  in  Portland.  You  have  the  best  place  of  the  kind  I  have 
ever  seen  in  any  country.'  A  second  officer  says:  'I've  been 
in  almost  every  port  in  the  world,  and  I've  never  been  in  a 
place  where  so  much  pains  is  taken  with  the  seamen  as 
here,  and  I'm  only  sorry  they  don't  appreciate  it  more. 
A  sailor  said  to  me:  'I've  been  all  over  the  world  and  in 
many  Institutes,  but  for  Jack  this  is  the  best  place  I've 
ever  been  in.  Everybody  seems  10  be  treated  alike  here.' 
And  just  this  morning  I  received  this  letter  from  a  chief 
ofncer:  'The  boys  all  seemed  terribly  downhearted  in  leav- 
ing Portland,  and  I  quite  believe  that  the  attractiveness  in 
the  evenings  of  your  admirably  conducted  Institute  has 
much  to  do  with  it.  *  *  *  *  You  may  not  meet  with  all  the 
reward  from  the  sailors  you  deserve,  but  when  good  seed 
is  sown  there  is  always  some  cast  on  soil  that  bears  good 
fruit;  and  then,  above  all,  there  is  Christ's  reward.'  " 

This  was  the  beautiful  culmination  of  the  self- 
denying  work  that  Mr.  Fletcher  had  been  doing 
for  so  many  years;  much  of  the  time  alone,  often 
amidst  great  discouragements,  yet  going  steadily 
on  sowing  the  good  seed  in  the  early  morning  and 
in  the  late  evening,  hoping,  praying,  believing,  that 
God  would  water  it  from  on  high,  and  in  His  own 
irood  time  let  him  see  the  bountiful  harvest.  Sure- 


216  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

ly    the    workman    was    receiving    his    hire.     Mr. 
Fletcher  writes,  May  7,  1895: — 


"I  attended  the  funeral  of  William  Norman  Harzeel,  an 
apprentice  on  the  ship  Highland  Home,  a  native  of  Devon- 
shire, England.  He  was  drowned  yesterday  morning.  He 
was  a  good  Christian  boy,  converted  with  several  other 
boys  in  our  Bethel  meetings  here  two  years  ago.  He  was  at 
our  services  last  Sabbath,  and  I  had  conversed  with  him 
just  before  he  left  the  Bethel  to  go  on  board  his  ship.  I 
little  thought  then  that  it  was  the  last  conversation  I  would 
ever  hold  with  the  dear  boy. 

"September  1st.  Our  young  people  connected  with  our 
Bethel  work  have  organized  a  'Floating  Society  of  Chris- 
tian Endeavor,'  in  connection  with  our  seaman's  work.  I 
have  been  trying  for  some  time  to  get  it  started,  and  have 
succeeded  at  last.  I  am  sure  it  will  be  a  great  blessing  to 
the  young  men  and  boys  of  the  ships.  I  look  for  a  most 
blessed  work  among  them  this  winter. 

"September  3d.  Visited  the  fine  four  masted  ship  Drum- 
onur,  Captain  Withois,  just  arrived  from  New  Castle,  Aus- 
tralia. As  I  was  standing  on  the  dock  Mr.  Sitford,  her  first 
officer  hailed  me.  I  did  not  recognize  him  at  first,  until 
he  jumped  ashore  and  took  me  by  the  hand.  I  asked  him 
if  I  did  not  call  him  'Jock'  when  he  was  here,  an  apprentice, 
some  nine  years  ago  on  another  ship.  He  said  he  was  the 
same  'Jock.'  He  was  a  good  Christian  boy  when  I  used  to 
call  him  'Jock,'  and  he  is  now  first  officer  of.  a  fine  ship, 
and  a  good  Christan  man.  His  captain  is  a  Christian,  and 
more  than  half  of  his  crew  are  Christians.  They  have  ser- 


SOWING  AND  REAPING.  'JIT 

vice  every  Sunday  at  sea,  both  fore  and  aft.    There  is  no 
swearing  nor  vile  talking  aboard  that  ship. 

"October  2d.  Visited  the  bark  Glenafton,  Captain  Beattie. 
He  is  one  of  the  young  lads  that  I  used  to  bring  up  to 
spend  a  social  evening  with  us  when  he  was  here  some 
years  ago.  He  had  passed  out  of  my  recollection,  though 
myself  and  wife  did  not  pass  out  of  his.  He  said  he  had 
never  forgot  the  many  little  acts  of  kindness  we  had  shown 
him  and  the  other  boys  when  they  were  with  us  in  port; 
but  what  cheered  me  most  was  his  saying  that  he  had  put 
into  practice  the  counsel  I  had  given  him,  to  give  his  heart 
to  God  and  take  Christ  as  his  Captain.  I  find  him  to-day 
a  fine  young  Christian  captain;  one  who  is  respected  and 
loved  by  his  officers  and  crew.  I  had  a  precious  visit  with 
him.  Praise  the  Lord." 

The  reader  will  see  that  by  this  time  in  the  life  of 
Mr.  Fletcher  there  was  much  of  the  ripened  fruit  of 
the  seed  he  had  so  long  been  industriously  and 
prayerfully  sowing  being  brought  back  to  him  to 
his  great  satisfaction  and  enjoyment.  Boys  had 
grown  up  to  be  men  since  he  began  his  work.  The 
frail  little  apprentices  that  he  and  his  good  wife 
looked  after  so  tenderly,  whom  they  fathered  and 
mothered  so  anxiously  while  they  were  in  port,  and 
from  the  door  of  whose  hearts  they  hunted  away 
the  wolf  of  sin  so  vigorously  and  courageously,  had 
passed  through  the  necessary  grades  of  service  and 


218  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

not  a  few  of  them  walked  the  quarterdeck  digni- 
fied and  able  commanders  of  the  finest  ships  that 
entered  the  harbor.  Others  of  them  had  gone  out 
from  his  guiding  hand  into  the  even  more  honora- 
ble work  of  the  gospel  ministry.  Is  it  any  wonder 
that,  as  Mr.  Fletcher  passed  beyond  his  three  score 
years  and  began  to  study,  in  the  light  of  a  fulfilled 
hope,  the  results  of  his  work  that  his  heart  grew 
warm,  and  praises  were  continually  mounting  to  his 
lips.  Surely  to  have  lived  so  long  and  lived  so 
well,  and  in  that  life  have  wrought  so  faithfully  for 
God  and  so  successfully  for  humanity,  were  an  oc- 
casion of  triumph  that  comparatively  few  ever  en- 
joy. Then,  too,  that  beautiful  ripeness  of  heart 
that  is  often  manifested  in  people  who  are  nearing 
the  end  of  the  hard,  foot-sore  journey  of  life,  and 
can  already  see  the  open  door  through  which  they 
are  so  soon  to  pass  into  the  life  immortal,  was  clear- 
ly seen  in  him.  And  there  was  yet  another  fact 
that  threw  over  all  he  did  and  said  and  was  an  odor 
and  a  radiance  from  the  groves  and  the  sunshine  of 
the  Paradise  of  God.  The  wife,  who  had  been  to 
him  so  loving  a  companion,  so  steadfast  a  friend, 
so  courageous  a  helper,  so  devoted  a  mother  to  his 
"dear  sailor-boys,"  was  rapidly  dropping  off  the 


SOWING  AND   HEAPING.  211» 

mortal  and  just  as  rapidly  putting  on  the  immortal. 
Thus  he  was  talking  and  walking  in  the  very  lan- 
guage of  Canaan,  and  under  the  very  verdurous 
shades  of  the  groves  that  margin  the  river  whose 
waters  make  glad  the  city  of  God.  On  Sabbath 
morning,  January  the  17th,  1896,  she  passed  gently 
out  of  his  sight,  and  was  at  rest  with  the  Lord. 


CHAPTER    XV11I. 

"GKANDMA  FLETCHER." 

She  was  sent  forth 

To  bring  that  light  which  never  wintry  blast 
Blows  out,  nor  rain  nor  snow  extinguishes— 
The  light  that  shines  from  loving  eyes  upon 
Eyes  that  love  back,  till  they  can  see  no  more." 

—Lander. 

TT^ROM  various  notices  given  in  the  preceeding 
-*~  pages  it  has  been  made  obvious  to  the  read- 
er that  Mr.  Fletcher  found  his  most  constant  and 
sympathizing  helper  in  the  great  work  he  wrought 
among  the  seamen,  in  his  wife;  well  known  by 
nearly  every  sea-faring  man  visiting  Portland  as 
"Grandma  Fletcher."  This  was  with  them  a  term 
of  endearment  and  respect.  She  was  so  true,  so 
constant,  so  tender,  so  attentive  to  her  sailor-boys 
and  so  constantly  caring  for  their  comfort  and  safe- 
ty while  in  port,  and  prayed  so  earnestly  and  lov- 
ingly for  them  when  away,  awaiting  their  return 
with  so  much  solicitude,  and  welcoming  them  back 


GRANDMA    FLETCHER.  221 

again  to  her  heart  and  home  with  such  motherly 
affection  that  they  could  not  but  bear  her  image 
with  them  as  they  sailed  all  seas  and  anchored  in  all 
ports.  It  was  not  that  she  was  young  and  beau- 
tiful, for  she  was  aged  and  plain.  It  was  not  that 
she  was  brilliant  and  fascinating  in  talents  and  con- 
versation, for  she  was  simple  and  childlike.  Why 
was  it,  then,  that  the  thoughts  and  remembrances 
of  that  plain,  unostentatious  wroman  did  more  to 
influence  and  fashion  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
lives  towards  beauty  and  goodness  all  over  the 
world  than  almost  any  of  her  more  favored  sister- 
hood in  the  city  where  she  dwelt?  From  quarter- 
deck to  forecastle  she  was  beloved  by  all  alike. 
Her  friendship  was  cherished  while  she  was  living, 
and  her  memory  is  revered  and  honored  now  that 
she  is  dead.  None  can  tell  except  that  in  that  frail, 
plain  body  dwelt  an  angel  soul;  a  soul  that  walked 
so  deeply  and  so  constantly  in  communion  with 
God  and  the  good  world  that  it  became  a  vital 
bond  of  connection  between  heaven  and  earth. 
Aching  hearts  felt  the  consolation  of  the  land  of 
rest  and  comfort  through  her  mediation.  The 
wandering  and  wayward  felt  the  draw  and  tug 
of  her  prayers  and  counsels  at  their  heart-strings, 


222  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

even  when  she  was  far  away.  The  good  and 
pure  felt  the  sympathy  of  a  common  spirit 
in  fellowship  with  her;  while  the  bad  sighed  for 
a  new  life  when  they  saw  the  beauty  and  felt 
the  fragrant  atmosphere  of  hers  breathing  over 
them.  In  her,  one  inhabitant  of  heaven  walked 
among  the  sons  and  daughters  of  earth,  if  not  in 
silken  and  jeweled  robes,  then  in  "a  meek  and  quiet 
spirit,"  of  greater  price  in  God's  eyes  than  rubies 
and  silver.  Never  was  purer  love  on  earth  than 
the  love  wherewith  she  was  loved  by  her  sailor- 
boys  as  they  sailed  away  or  floated  back  to  port. 

Her  church  membership  was  held  in  Grace 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church;  a  church  whose 
membership  and  congregation  have  exceptional  in- 
telligence and  social  standing.  She  held  the  same 
sweet  place  in  their  hearts  while  she  lived,  and  her 
memory  is  cherished  with  the  same  tenderness  now 
that  she  has  departed,  as  in  the  minds  and  hearts 
of  her  sailor-boys.  When  it  was  known  that 
"Grandma  Fletcher,"  as  she  was  lovingly  called  by 
all,  had  passed  out  of  the  back  door  of  the  church 
militant  and  entered  the  "gate  beautiful"  of  the 
church  triumphant,  all  hearts  thrilled  with  a  tender 
sorrow  for  their  "loss,"  mingled  with  a  sweet  joy 


GKANDMA  FLETCHER.  223 

for  her  "gain;"    for  surely  for  her  to  die  was  gain. 

Those  who  were  present  at  her  funeral,  and  thev 
were  many,  will  ever  remember  how  "on  the  verge 
of  heaven"  seemed  the  fair  temple  where  they  cel- 
brated  her  immortal  crowning  that  day., Her  pas- 
tor, Rev.  Henry  Rasmus,  D.D.,  whose  lips  know  so 
well  how  to  weave  the  witchery  of  loving  and  elo- 
quent speech,  and  whose  own  heart  parented  the 
words  his  lips  uttered  on  the  occasion,  delivered 
an  address  that  might  well  have  been  the  funeral 
oration  of  a  Confessor  of  the  church  of  the  purer 
and  loftier  ages,  which  may  fittingly  crown  this 
chapter  of  tribute  to  "Grandma  Fletcher,''  but 
without  which  the  chapter  itself  would  be  without 
a  coronet. 

"I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  1 
have  kept  the  faith;  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a 
crown  of  righteousness  which  the  Lord  the  righteous  judge 
shall  give  me  at  that  day  and  not  unto  me  only  but  unto 
all  them  also  that  love  His  appearing,"  II  Timothy,  4th 
chapter,  7th  and  8th  verses. 

There  could  not  possibly  be  found  a  more  appropriate 
text  than  this  for  the  occasion  of  this  morning's  sermon. 
It  was  the  exclamation  of  triumph  fitting  the  close  of  a  no- 
ble Christian  life  many  centuries  ago.  It  has  been  fitting- 
ly applied  to  many  a  Christian  life  since,  and  it  becomes 
very  appropriate  at  this  time,  a  tribute  of  respect  and  af- 


224  WILLIAM   S.   FLETCHER. 

fection  to  the  venerable  friend  whom  it  has  pleased  God 
to  remove  from  our  society  and  exalt  into  His  own  more 
immediate  presence. 

After  a  life  of  probably  more  than  three  score  years  and 
ten  devoted  in  an  eminent  degree  to  the  glory  of  the  Sa- 
viour and  the  temporal  and  spiritual  welfare  of  her  fellow 
creatures,  she  has  gone  from  the  battle  to  the  crowning; 
from  the  keeping  of  the  faith  to  where  faith  is  lost  in  the 
divine  wonderland  of  sight.  Though  gone,  she  still  speaks 
to  us,  her  friends,  her  brethren,  in  an  example  of  Christian 
piety  as  pure  and  beautiful  and  attractive  I  think  as  the 
church  militant  in  these  latter  days  is  wont  to  exhibit;  and 
now  in  contemplation  of  such  a  life  all  beautiful  with  holi- 
ness and  shining  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day,  what 
is  there  in  it  to  attract,  to  uplift,  to  inspire?  Much  that  we 
never  would  know  of  unless  we  pause  to  look  and  think 
and  learn. 

Who  was  this  plain  little  woman  upon  whose  memory 
we  place  this  tribute  to-day?  I  shall  answer,  first  of  all, 
she  was  a  beautiful  specimen  of  what  the  religion  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  can  do  for  all.  Born  again  in  the  state 
of  New  York,  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  perfected  in  love  in  Ore- 
gon on  the  Pacific  coast,  she  stood  a  living  monument  of 
the  amazing  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  might  chal- 
lenge you  to  bring  from  all  the  ranks  of  those  who  have 
despised  the  religion  of  Jesus  a  single  example  of  one  who 
served  his  generation  as  faithfully  as  she  served  hers.  She 
was  not  great  as  the  world  counts  greatness.  She  was 
humble;  she  belonged  to  the  lowliest  of  the  earth.  Her 
name  will  never  be  heard  outside  of  a  limited  few,  but  I 
think  God  spoke  to  His  angels  saying,  "Watch  over  her  for 


GKANDMA     FLETCHEK.  225 

I  will  teach  men  through  this  comparatively  obscure  life 
that  the  religion  of  my  sou  can  make  the  lowliest  life  glo- 
rious." We  can  do  her  memory  no  greater  service  than  to 
say  that  only  the  grace  of  God  can  make  a  character  like 
hers. 

You  want  a  religion  that  gives  a  perfectly  satisfactory 
experience?  You  want  a  religion  that  triumphs  over  the 
frets  and  worries  of  life;  you  want  a  divine  grace  that  can 
meet  life  just  as  life  is  aud  transform  it  into  a  temple  of 
holiness,  a  song  of  peace?  Then  you  can  have  it  in  the 
same  religion  she  enjoyed.  The  transforming,  transporting 
religion  of  Jesus. 

Again,  if  you  were  to  ask  me  who  she  was,  I  should  an- 
swer, "A  contribution  from  that  type  of  Christianity  called 
Methodism."  If  I  have  the  purpose  of  God  aright  in  the 
mission  of  the  Methodist  Church,  it  is  her  privilege  lo 
develop  what?  First  of  all,  to  take  the  spiritually  lame, 
the  halt  and  the  blind  and  make  them  leap  for  joy,  and 
after  having  done  that  by  putting  upon  them  the  impress 
of  her  peculiar  doctrine,  send  them  forth  a  peculiar  people 
to  spread  scriptural  holiness  over  the  land. 

I  think  when  this  woman  of  God  went  up  to  the  gate 
of  Heaven  there  was  at  that  gateway  a  group  of  that  type 
of  redeemed  ones  to  greet  her.  I  might  name  some  of 
them:  Father  Noon,  and  Northrup  and  Nelson  and  More- 
land.  This  church  remembers  them  when  in  years  past 
they  were  mighty  for  God  in  prayer  and  testimony  and 
daily  life  and  as  you  think  of  them  and  then  of  a  type  of 
Christianity  that  is  recognized  only  by  me  spiritual  crutch- 
es it  is  compelled  to  use;  by  its  halting  and  limping,  how 
are  you  impressed  by  the  comparison?  Which  type  moves 


220  WILLIAM   S.   FLETCHER. 

men  towards  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ?  These  rugged,  ro- 
bust men  of  God,  or  those  who  are  fearful  lest  they  should 
go  too  far  if  they  should  launch  out  into  the  deep  sea  of 
God's  grace?  Oh,  for  more  lives  that  are  out  on  the  mid- 
sea  of  God's  mercy.  Oh,  for  more  of  such  living  examples 
read  and  known  of  all  men,  whose  fragrance  you  can  no 
more  fence  in  than  you  can  fence  in  the  perfume  of  a  grove 
of  magnolias  in  full  bloom. 

Nor  would  I  pass  unnoticed  the  large  sympathies  that 
characterized  this  amiable  yet  great  life.  She  belonged  to 
that  class  of  Christians  who  loved  the  world  as  Jesus  loved 
it.  Coming  down  upon  its  level  and  meeting  its  conditions 
in  a  manner  not  repelling  but  inviting;  that  bends  under 
the  burdens  of  others  and  sends  a  thrill  through  the  nerves 
of  the  coming  race.  In  a  brief  biography  prepared  by 
Father  Fletcher,  I  find  these  words  concerning  her:  "Many 
are  the  young  men  she  started  in  the  better  way  by  plead- 
ing with  them  on  the  streets  to  attend  religious  services 
and  by  every  means  available  get  them  under  the  influence 
of  the  gospel."  I  do  not  know  that  any  more  luminous 
commentary  could  be  given  of  any  life  than  this:  He  loved 
the  souls  of  men.  Better  have  that  written  upon  the  tomb- 
stone than  the  most  applauding  epitaph  that  wealth  or 
social  position  or  anything  merely  worldly  can  chisel. 
Right  glorious  is  it  that  we  are  coming  out  into  the  horizon 
of  such  a  sympathy.  Of  infinitely  more  value  is  one 
life  to  whom  in  a  religious  way  the  blossoming  orchard  is  n 
living  censer  before  the  throne;  to  whom  the  sky  is  a  gal- 
lery and  the  clouds  are  pictures  done  in  water  colors  than 
a  hundred  whose  religious  experience  is  a  barren  landscape. 
May  it  please  God  to  baptize  this  church  with  the  gospel  of 


GRANDMA    FLETCHER.  227 

holy  sympathy  which  stretches  out  its  hands  after  the  souls 
of  men. 

Then  I  would  not  fail  to  remind  you  of  the  simplicity  of 
her  faith.  It  was  the  charming  simplicity  of  a  little  child 
asking  for  what  it  had  no  thought  of  being  denied.  To  her 
the  religion  of  Jesus  was  not  an  intricate  system  hard  to 
he  understood  and  difficult  to  put  into  practice,  but  was  the 
simple  asking  and  receiving  from  the  hand  of  her  Heaven- 
ly Father.  Is  not  that  the  lesson  we  all  need  to  learn  in  a 
fuller  way  than  we  have  yet  learned  it?  When  Christ  be- 
gan the  world's  conquest,  what  kind  of  a  religion  did  he 
offer  to  men?  The  plainest  that  had  ever  been  formulated 
for  humanity.  Why  did  he  not  go  down  into  Rome  where 
there  were  plenty  of  great  intellects  and  there  get  his  dis- 
ciples? Why  did  he,  instead  of  these,  take  men  who  were 
as  plain  as  the  fishing  boats  by  the  Galilean  sea?  I  will 
tell  you  why.  It  was  because  when  his  words  and  religion 
were  to  be  delivered  to  the  world  he  did  not  wish  them  put 
into  learned  sayings  and  apologetics,  but  in  the  plainest 
phraseology  so  that  the  humblest  could  understand  them. 
The  religion  of  Christ  never  clouded  the  mind  of  any  one. 
It  is  only  man's  attempt  to  enlarge  upon  it  that  throws  the 
clouds  around  its  plain  simple  ruggedness.  Here  is  the 
whole  plan  of  salvation  in  a  few  sentences:  Man  lost  be- 
cause of  sin.  .Tesus  Christ  the  only  Saviour.  Simple  faith 
in  God,  simple  faith  in  His  Son,  simple  faith  in  the  Holy 
Ghost;  the  one  triune  God.  blessed  and  glorious.  No  need 
to  get  lost  in  that  creed.  Do  you  want  to  know  who  this 
infinite  God  is?  No  need  to  speculate  about  it.  Ask  Him 
and  He  will  demonstrate  who  He  is  in  a  way  that  all  hu- 
man philosophy  can  never  overturn.  Are  you  in  the  throes 


228  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

of  any  great  difficulty  or  trouble?  Simply  ask  Him  to  help 
you  out  arid  do  your  best,  and  He  will  come  as  certain  as 
God  is  on  the  living,  eternal  throne. 

Suppose  we  were  to  exercise  that  simple  faith  in  the 
Bible  instead  of  a  spirit  of  criticism,  what  would  be  the  re- 
sult to  our  individual  lives?  There  is  no  book  in  the  world 
that  demands  such  simplicity  of  belief  as  the  scriptures  and 
yet  nine-tenths  of  Christian  men  think  it  is  an  enigma,  hard 
to  unravel  and  understand.  There  is  only  one  way  to  take 
this  letter  from  our  Father's  hand,  written  in  the  light  of 
our  Father's  face.  Does  it  say  "He  hath  loved  you  with  an 
everlasting  love?  Believe  it?  Does  it  say  He  has  a  father's 
kiss  for  the  prodigal's  return?  Believe  it  and  get  that  kiss 
of  welcome  as  speedily  as  possible.  Does  it  say  He  will 
never  leave  you  nor  forsake  you?  Believe  it  and  go  right 
forward,  though  it  may  be  into  the  face  of  flashing  light- 
ning and  the  angry  mutterings  of  the  storm.  Just  as  certain 
as  you  begin  to  question  whether  His  promises  are  certain 
or  not.  you  have  closed  those  golden  lips  and  their  assur- 
ance is  hushed  to  you  and  they  become  null  and  void. 

Do  you  still  ask  me  who  this  woman  was  who  went  out 
to  God  last  Sabbath  morning?  I  reply,  she  was  a  woman 
of  much  prayer.  Prayer  was  the  chalice  in  which  like 
Rachael  in  olden  times,  she  brought  the  waters  from  the 
everlasting  well.  It  was  the  ladder  by  which  she  climbed 
up  to  gather  the  grapes  hanging  over  the  walls  of  heaven. 
It  was  the  ship  that  carried  away  her  wants  and  came  back 
with  a  return  cargo  of  divine  help.  This  plain  little  woman 
found  what  the  philosophers  failed  to  discover,  the  power 
that  moves  the  world.  Prayer  was  the  lever,  the  divine 
promise,  the  fulcrum  and  the  arm  of  her  faith  pressing 


GRANDMA   FLETCHER.  229 

down  on  such  a  lever,  she  possessed  the  medium  that  can 
move  not  only  the  earth  but  heaven  also.  This  church  has 
no  doubt  lost  in  this  Mother  in  Israel  who  for  several 
years  was  confined  to  her  home,  one  of  its  strongest  pillars. 
Around  that  pillar  was  twined  the  beautiful,  the  true,  the 
love  of  prayer  as  the  acanthus  leaf  around  the  Corinthian 
pillar.  You  may  not  lack  in  active,  devoted  vigorous  nieu 
and  women,  but  if  this  church  has  one  intercessor  left,  one 
so  mighty  with  God,  one  who  so  loved  to  talk  with  Christ 
about  blood-bought  souls;  one  such  Miriam  to  hold  up  the 
hands  that  are  ready  to  fall:  if  so,  it  will  prove  a  vital 
church. 

This,  the  spirit  of  earnest  prayer,  some  of  us  need  most  of 
all.  What  is  the  infidelity  and  moral  corruption  and  world- 
liness  of  an  entire  city  over  against  one  faded  face,  wrink- 
led with  years,  uplifted  to  God  in  almost  continuous  suppli- 
cation? Nothing  but  a  starveling;  a  retreating  foe.  No 
wonder  that  Havelock  went  on  from  victory  to  victory.  If 
his  army  was  to  march  at  six  o'clock,  he  would  rise  at 
four  o'clock  and  spend  the  two  hours  upon  his  knees  before 
the  throne.  You  had  better  not  get  in  the  way  of  a  man  or 
woman  who  has  been  looking  into  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ, 
for  they  may  prove  a  thunderbolt  swung  by  the  arm  of  the 
Lord  omnipotent. 

Then,  still  further,  I  cannot  avoid  the  conclusion  that  the 
latter  years  of  this  saint  of  God  have  exhibited  one  of  the 
most  attractive  instances  it  has  been  my  good  fortune  to 
notice  of  a  beautiful  Christian  old  age.  Her  religion  was 
so  vital  and  pervading  that  it  seemed  always  young,  al- 
ways instinct  with  the  freshness  and  joyousness  of  perpet- 
ual youth,  and  her  religion  stamped  its  impress  upon  her 


230  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

whole  character,  and  it  seemed  to  refresh  her  soul  with 
living  waters  and  make  her  body  a  continuous  temple  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  To  this  established  dominion  of  control- 
ing  grace  I  ascribe  it,  that  Mrs.  Fletcher  was  to  the  day  of 
her  death  exempted  beyond  most  other  aged  persons  from 
the  weaknesses  of  old  age.  She  had  not  the  slightest  spirit 
of  captiousness,  of  complaining  or  discontent.  But  with 
all  of  the  saintly  love,  she  was  as  amiable  and  meek  and 
gentle  as  an  angel's  presence.  Hers  was  indeed  a  peaceful 
and  glorious  sunset  not  behind  clouds,  but  dipping  into  the 
golden  sea. 

I  do  not  know  through  which  of  the  twelve  gates  of 
heaven  she  entered  when  she  ascended  a  week  ago,  but  I 
think  it  must  have  been  the  most  glorious  of  all.  And  now 
as  we  stand  in  the  presence  of  these  three  score  years  that 
may  seem  to  us  like  a  little  sea,  each  billow  crowned  with 
glory  and  honor,  the  reflection  comes  to  us  that  life  is  in- 
explicable except  as  a  probation.  Why  does  man  live? 
Why  does  he  die?  Take  the  answer  of  the  old  catechism, 
"to  glorify  God  and  enjoy  Him  forever."  What  is  the  true 
theory  of  life;  what  with  all  its  trials,  sufferings,  heart- 
aches? This:  a  place  of  probation;  the  first  stage  of  an 
endless  being;  the  waiting  room  of  eternity,  where  we 
stay  a  little  while  for  instruction  and  discipline,  prepara- 
tory to  the  higher  pursuits  and  enjoyments  to  which  if 
found  worthy  we  are  shortly  to  be  promoted.  Three  score 
years  and  ten  constitute  a  period  long  enough  for  the  pur- 
poses of  religion.  We  note  as  an  historical  fact  that  the 
foundations  of  piety  are  almost  always  laid  in  early  life, 
and  that  very  few  are  converted  after  60  or  70  years  of 
age.  For  all  practical  purposes  the  probation  of  the  impen- 


GRANDMA   FLETCHER.  231 

itent  sinner  has  usually  closed  before  extreme  age  has  rob- 
bed his  limbs  and  his  intellect  of  their  vigor.  Continue  his 
life  to  the  probation  of  Methuselah  and  it  would  be  use- 
less. It  would  be  heaping  up  wrath  against  the  day  of 
wrath.  If  we  could  see  as  God  sees,  how  many  unwritten 
epitaphs  we  might  read  like  this:  "Ephriam  is  joined  to 
his  idols.  Let  him  alone." 

What  is  the  meaning  of  every  church  tower  from  Port- 
land to  New  York;  from  London  to  St.  Petersburg;  from 
Moscow  to  Rome?  They  are  God's  finger  boards  forever 
reminding  men  that  just  a  little  farther  on  the  life's  proba- 
tion will  close  and  then  not  an  eternal  sleep,  not  an- 
nihilation, not  another  period  of  probation,  but  after 
that,  the  judgment.  In  New  England  they  have 
what  they  call  a  passing  bell,  tolled  whenever  one 
in  the  village  dies.  I  think  I  can  hear  in  the  ringing 
of  every  church  bell  the  warning,  "Some  one  gone  from  the 
family,  gone  from  the  church,  gone  from  the  last  opportuni- 
ty of  salvation.  Probation  ended."  With  that  overmaster- 
ing thought  in  my  mind,  I  must  ask  you  to-day,  have  God's 
overtures  been  accepted?  Have  you  settled  it?  Do  you 
not  know  that  hours  once  dead  can  never  be  resuscitated, 
that  upon  all  the  drops  of  dew  that  fall  on  the  grave  there 
will  not  be  one  tear  of  repentance?  Better  listen  to  the 
warning  ringing  through  this  old  world,  ringing  for  two 
thousand  years;  ringing  for  every  man,  saying,  "How  shall 
we  escape  if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation?  Now  is  the 
day  of  salvation."  And  then  closely  associated  with  this, 
comes  the  other  reflection  that  life  after  all  is  only  a  pil- 
grimage. Very  frequently  when  her  husband  would  come 
home  from  his  work  among  the  seamen,  he  would  sit  down 


232  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

and  talk  to  her  about  the  glorified  ones  with  whom  she  had 
been  associated  in  church  fellowship  in  this  city.  Then  her 
face  would  light  up  with  the  smile  of  anticipated  meeting 
and  she  would  say,  "Come  along,  Grandpa;  let's  go.  What 
is  the  use  of  waiting?"  Life  to  her,  as  it  is  to  all  of  us 
who  believe  in  a  coming  glory,  is  only  a  little  pilgrimage. 
Some  of  us  stop  here  20  years,  some  40,  some  50,  some  80. 
A  few  are  accommodated  in  the  first-class  hotels,  more  in 
the  second,  the  vast  majority  in  the  third-rate  resorts,  but 
at  the  end  of  the  journey  it  will  be  all  the  same  a  resting 
place  under  the  flowers  and  the  clods  of  the  valley.  Then 
what  is  immortal  of  us,  if  we  have  been  true  to  God,  moves 
on  and  up.  If  you  have  any  idea  that  the  man  or  woman 
who  has  fallen  asleep  in  Jesus  lies  decaying  in  Riverview 
or  Lone  Fir  cemeteries,  I  have  no  share  in  your  belief. 
They  have  passed  on  to  a  more  glorious  condition.  We 
make  toilsome  journeys  to  visit  beloved  relatives  and 
friends;  we  gladly  cross  stormy  seas  that  we  may  see 
magnificent  or  historical  structures  or  renowned  cities  or 
landscapes  or  celebrated  statutes  and  paintings,  but  they 
have  taken  the  easier  and  shorter  passage  to  heaven,  where 
Jesus  in  His  glory  sits  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  where  are 
the  glories  of  immortalized  sculpture,  worked  not  in  cold 
stone,  but  in  tbo  living  marble  of  heaven,  where  are  the 
landscapes  that  never  fade,  where  is  the  city  whose  splen- 
dor outshines  tlie  sun.  Why,  my  friends,  you  cannot  un- 
derstand fully  the  difference  between  life  here  and  life 
where  light  is  dimless.  More  difference  than  between  an 
eagle  in  an  iron  cage  and  an  eagle  pitched  from  Mt.  Hood 
toward  the  sun.  They  have  gone  out  to  be  deathless  as 


GRANDMA   FLETCHER.  233 

God  is  deathless.  Brothers,  are  you  ready  to  close  earth's 
pilgrimage  and  go  out  to  such  au  existence? 

But  there  conies  yet  one  other  reflection.  I  could  not  help 
thinking,  as  I  rode  down  the  winding  hillside  after  having 
put  her  to  rest  in  Riverview  Cemetery,  what  a  glorious  day 
the  resurrection  will  be.  When  the  sea  shall  give  up  Its 
dead;  when  the  earthquake  shall  split  the  polished  granite 
pillar  as  well  as  the  plain  slab.  Those  monuments  upou 
which  perhaps  are  but  two  or  three  words:  "Our  Child," 
"Our  Father."  "Our  Mother,"  "Our  Loved  One." 

There  is  the  one  promise  more  certain  than  the  eternal 
hills:  "As  they  have  borne  the  image  of  the  earthly,  so 
shall  they  also  bear  the  image  of  the  heavenly."  They  will 
come  up  again.  The  faces  that  were  once  dear,  that  are 
in  our  memories  now  fairer  than  any  lily  of  the  field,  shall 
be  ours  again.  Can  you  think  of  anything  more  beautiful 
than  the  return  of  those  from  whom  we  have  been  parted? 
I  do  not  care  which  way  the  body  may  fall  If  God's  plow- 
share shall  turn  back  the  soil  and  give  me  back  my  lost 
treasure  again. 

The  idea  of  the  resurrection  gets  easier  to  understand  as 
I  listen  to  the  scientific  appliances  whereby  the  world  Is 
made  a  whispering  gallery.  We  shall  hear  the  voices  that 
were  hushed  long  ago  once  more  when  the  eternal  morning 
shall  break  over  the  hills,  when  the  voice  of  Jesus  shall  say, 
"Come  up.  You  have  slept  long  enough,"  when  there  shall 
be  the  flash  of  rekindled  eyes  and  the  joy  of  the  greeting. 
When  following  the  chariot  of  Christ  up  the  highway  of 
the  sky,  we  shall  look  back  at  the  place  where  we  slept  so 
long  on  the  hillside,  in  the  valley  under  the  soughing  trees 
and  as  they  disappear  forever,  from  our  lips  shall  go  the 


234  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

shout,  "O  death  where  is  thy  sting,  O  grave  where  is  thy 
victory."  May  God  give  us  all  a  part  in  the  first  resurrec- 
tion. 

It  will  not  be  amiss  to  close  this  brief  notice  of 
the  life  and  influence  of  "Grandma  Fletcher"  with 
some  account  of  her  life  before  she  entered  upon 
that  special  work  that  made  her  such  a  notable 
power  for  good  in  Portland. 

Her  maiden  name  was  Brown.  She  was  born 
in  the  city  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  in  1821,  and  was  left 
an  orphan  in  her  childhood,  but  was  taken  into  a 
noble  Christian  household,  that  of  Mr.  Bond,  who, 
with  his  wife  and  three  daughters  of  an  exception- 
ally pure  and  lovely  character,  were  devoted  mem- 
bers of  the  old  Niagara  Street  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  Here  her  surroundings  were  of  the 
choicest  kind.  In  her  fourteenth  year  she  was 
converted  and  became  also  a  member  of  the  same 
church,  entering  at  once  into  all  the  relations  and 
opportunities  it  afforded  her  for  Christian  improve- 
ment and  work.  The  Bible  was  her  constant  com- 
panion and  study,  and  much  of  it  was  there  com- 
mitted to  memory,  and  gave  tone  and  substance  to 
her  thought  all  through  her  life.  She  was  much 
loved  by  the  members  of  Mr.  Bond's  family,  and  es- 
pecially by  Miss  Grace  Bond,  who  became  the  wife 


GRANDMA    FLETCHER.  235 

of  Rev.  W.  P.  Stowe,  D.D.,  for  many  years  agent 
of  the  Western  Book  Concern  of  the  M.  E.  Church 
in  Cincinnati.  In  1861  she  removed  to  California 
and  became  a  member  of  the  First  M.  E.  Church 
of  Oakland.  In  1870  she  removed  to  Portland, 
Oregon,  with  Col.  Flint  and  family,  and  connected 
herself  with  the  First  M.  E.  Church  of  that  city. 
Here  she  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Fletcher, 
and  on  the  24th  day  of  May,  1871,  they  were  mar- 
ried by  Rev.  William  Roberts,  D.  D.,  then  pastor 
of  that  church.  Not  long  after  this  she  entered 
into  the  experience  of  "perfect  love,"  and  its  reality 
was  testified  in  all  her  subsequent  life  and  work. 

In  1874  the  "Woman's  Temperance  League" 
was  organized,  Mrs.  Fletcher  becoming  one  of  its 
first  members.  In  all  the  work  of  "The  Crusade" 
that  followed  she  was  never  absent  from  a  meeting, 
and  always  answered  to  her  name  at  roll  call  for 
street  work.  With  six  other  Christian  ladies  she 
was  arrested  and  put  in  jail  twice  for  daring  to  op- 
pose drunkenness  and  crime  with  prayer  and  song 
and  Christian  entreaty.  When,  on  the  occasion  of 
her  second  imprisonment,  her  husband  visited  her 
to  ascertain  if  she  needed  anything  for  her  comfort 
in  the  prison  at  night,  holding  his  hand  and  look- 


236  WILIAM   S.    FLETCHER. 

ing  tenderly  up  into  his  face  she  said:  "No;  I 
have  the  presence  of  Jesus,  and  that  is  all  I  need." 
Her  experience  in  the  work  of  the  crusade  led 
her  into  a  wider  field  of  Christian  work.  Every 
Sunday  morning  she  went  abroad  visiting  hotels, 
boarding  houses  and  jails  distributing  tracts  and 
inviting  the  people  to  church,  and  visiting  the  poor 
and  the  needy  during  the  week,  helping  and  com- 
forting them  in  every  way  possible.  Only  God's 
Recording  Angel  has  kept  the  record  of  the  hearts 
she  cheered  and  homes  she  gladdened  during  the 
many  years  she  threaded  the  streets,  the  lanes  and 
the  alleys  of  Portland,  bent  on  her  holy  mission. 
Soon  becoming  known  everywhere,  she  was  wel- 
comed, as  she  truly  was,  a  messenger  of  good  to 
the  high  and  the  lowly  alike.  Scores  were  started 
by  her  on  a  better  life.  In  all  her  home  was  open 
to  those  for  whom  she  felt  such  a  motherly  solicit- 
tude.  Sailors  from  before  the  mast,  officers  of 
ships,  captains  and  their  wives  and  families,  shared 
and  appreciated  alike  her  hospitality,  while  the 
best  Christian  homes  of  the  city  welcomed  her 
coming  with  delight.  She  often  sought  the  fel- 
lowship and  sympathy  of  such  devoted  and  cul- 
tured Christian  circles  as  filled  the  parlors  of  such 


GRANDMA   FLETCHER.  237 

families  as  the  Gills,  Northrups,  Akins,  Connells, 
Dickinsons,  Hills,  Hayes,  Izers,  because  her  own 
heart  was  reinforced  by  their  counsels  and  prayers 
for  her  ceaseless  round  of  duty  and  toil.  Few,  in- 
deed, of  those  whose  chances  were  better  than 
hers,  and  whose  opportunities  were  much  wider 
than  hers,  in  the  city  of  Portland  ever  took  more 
steps  or  did  more  kindly  deeds  for  the  Master  and 
His  dear  ones  than  "Grandma  Fletcher,"  and  now 
that  she  is  gone  none  are  more  missed  in  the 
abodes  of  want  or  where  aching  hearts  sigh  for 
comfort,  than  she. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

COMING     OF     THE     END. 

The  tide  rolls  up,  the  rippling  suiiny  tide, 

The  tossing  waves  throw  diamonds  to  the  sun; 

They  laugh  about  the  gray  old  rocks, 

And  fill  the  air  with  breezy  vigor  as  they  run. 

The  tide  rolls  out,  the  clouds  hang  dark  and  chill, 
And  sadness  creeps  along  the  sea  and  shore; 

The  dripping  rocks  stand  silent  and  alone, 

Like  silent  ghosts  of  days  that  are  no  more. 

O  life,  how  sweet  thou  art  when  tides  flow  in! 

When  skies  are  bright  and  health  is  in  the  air, 
The  sunny  waves  run  o'er  the  golden  sands, 

And  radiant  hope  laughs  gaily  at  despair. 

Yet  sure  as  life,  there  comes  the  ebbing  tide, 

When  joy  and  hope  flow  backward  from  the  shore, 

And  dreary  wastes,  and  dull  and  solemn  hours. 
Come  in  the  place  of  the  bright  days  of  yore. 

O  weary  heart,  look  upward  to  that  shore, 

Where  hope  is  lost  in  sight  that's  never  dim! 

There  only  is  assurance,  rest,  and  peace; 
For  there  forever  does  the  tide  flow  in. 

—Sir  Henry  Taylor,  in  Toilers  of  the  Deep. 


COMING   OF  THE   END.  239 

r  I  ^HOSE  who  followed  the  unpretentious  story 
-*-  of  the  every-day  life  of  Mr.  Fletcher  from 
the  time  we  first  introduced  him  to  them  must  have 
been  impressed  with  the  difference  between  the 
man  of  nearly  three  score  and  ten,  as  he  now  ap- 
pears, and  the  young  ignorant  Irish  boy  that  he 
then  was.  Then  he  was  a  thoughtless  waif  float- 
ing on  a  rough  and  stormy  sea.  A  score  of  years 
afterwards  he  was  but  a  beaten  and  buffeted  sailor 
boy,  unable  to  read,  given  up  to  ungodliness,  with- 
out intellectual  or  moral  aspiration,  and  having 
no  hope  in  this  world  or  the  next.  Now  he  is  a 
well-read  man,  a  close  and  clear  student  of  relig- 
ious truth,  a  well-informed  citizen,  a  devoted 
member  of  the  church  and  zealous  Christian  work- 
er and  the  friend  and  associate  of  the  intelligent  and 
wealthy  people  of  the  city  in  which  he  has  resided 
so  long,  and  his  name  is  a  household  word  among 
the  seamen  of  every  port  in  Christendom.  It  is 
not  far  nor  difficult  to  find  the  cause  of  this  g'-eat 
change.  One  single  fact  alone  explains  it.  It  was 
his  conversion  to  God,  followed  by  a  constant  and 
entire  consecration  to  His  service,  and  the  conse- 
quent employment  of  all  his  powers  in  doing  good 
to  men.  The  writer  does  not  remember  a  case  in 


240  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

a  fifty  years'  ministry  where  a  man  made  his  relig- 
ion more  the  chief  part  of  himself,  and  subordin- 
ated every  fact  and  interest  of  his  personal  life  to 
God's  service  as  the  Holy  Spirit  revealed  it  unto 
him,  than  did  William  S.  Fletcher.  It  is  in  this 
that  his  life  is  a  worthy  model,  and  it  is  in  this  that 
he  will  yet  speak  long  after  "we  shall  see  his  face 
no  more."  It  is,  therefore,  with  a  feeling  that  the 
tracing  out  and  recording  of  the  facts  and  incidents 
of  this  life  of  singular  devotion  has  been  a  means 
of  personal  grace,  and  with  a  conviction  that  the 
record  will  be  a  like  means  of  grace  to  those  who 
read  it,  that  the  writer  comes  to  the  concluding 
chapter  of  this  volume. 

In  the  middle  of  the  year  1897  Mr.  Fletcher  re- 
cords the  final  conclusion  of  his  mind  in  regard  to 
the  publication  of  this  memoir  while  he  was  yet 
alive.  He  had  expected  that  it  would  be  published 
after  his  departure,  but  his  best  friends  desired  that 
he  himself  might  see  it  while  living,  and  have  the 
pleasure  of  using  it  personally  for  the  benefit  of 
his  "brothers  of  the  sea,"  as  he  concluded  his  work 
among  them  in  his  last  and  ripest  days.  This  de- 
cision made,  and  all  needful  arrangements  for  its 
early  completion  perfected,  he  decided  to  fulfill  a 


COMING   OF  THE   END.  241 

long  felt  desire  to  revisit  some  of  the  scenes  of  his 
early  life  on  the  Pacific  coast,  and  especially  San 
Francisco,  with  which  he  was  so  familiar  when  it 
was  but  a  straggling  hamlet  of  tents  and  dingy 
wooden  buildings  among  the  sand  hills  that  begirt 
San  Francisco  Bay.  It  was  the  middle  of  1897 
when  he  was  ready  to  take  his  departure  on  this 
long-desired  trip,  and,  in  his  journal  for  June  26th, 
he  begins  the  record  of  this,  a  brief  pause  from  the 
constant  toil  and  care  of  ship  and  hospital  visita- 
tion, and  from  those  other  constant  demands  upon 
his  waning  strength  that  clamor  at  the  door  of  the 
heart  of  all  those  who  are  ready  to  respond  to  hu- 
man want  by  Christ-like  help.  He  says:— 

"I  leave  to-night  on  the  steamer  Columbia  for  San  Fran- 
cisco for  a  four  week's  cruise,  and  I  pray  that  the  Lord 
will  keep  my  little  home  and  all  that  belongs  to  me  in  my 
absence,  and  if  it  is  His  will  that  I  may  be  returned  again 
that  I  may  be  better  prepared  for  my  work  in  behalf  of 
my  brethren  of  the  sea." 

Thus  hrst  in  his  mind  always  was  his  relations  to 
the  men  for  whom  he  had  spent  so  many  years  of 
tender  care  and  earnest  prayers.  On  his  arrival  in 
San  Francisco  he  went  directly  to  the  "Sailor's 
Home,"  choosing  that  as  his  residence  while  in  the 


242  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

city  that  he  might  be  the  nearer  those  for  whom  he 
felt  such  earnest  solicitude.  He  found  great 
numbers  of  seamen  at  the  "Home"  under  the  su- 
perintendency  of  Captain  Staples,  and  the  "Sea- 
man's Institute"  conducted  by  Mr.  Fell,  the  resort 
of  large  numbers  of  sailors,  and  speaks  approving- 
ly of  the  influence  of  them  both  over  the  men  of  the 
sea.  We  will  let  him  tell  in  his  own  language  how 
he  spent  his  first  Sabbath  in  San  Francisco: — 

"Sabbath  morning,  June  20.  I  attended  the  morning  class 
at  the  Central  M.  E.  Church.  Had  a  good  class,  which  I 
greatly  enjoyed.  Heard  Dr.  Dillie  preach  a  good  sermon, 
but  before  its  close  we  had  quite  a  shock  of  earthquake 
which  caused  a  big  scare  in  the  congregation,  and  knocked 
the  remainder  of  the  sermon  out  of  the  doctor.  At  night 
I  attended  the  services  at  the  Mariner's  Church,  where  we 
had  a  good  sermon  by  Chaplain  Rowell,  followed  by  an  af- 
ter meeting,  at  which  three  of  the  seamen  were  converted, 
which  brought  joy  and  gladness  to  their  hearts  as  well  as 
to  my  own.  So  ended  my  first  Sabbath  in  San  Francisco. 

As  this  is  Jubilee  week,  there  are  a  large  number  of  sail- 
ors ashore  from  the  ships  on  leave.  I  meet  many  who  had 
been  to  Portland  on  other  voyages.  As  soon  as  I  was  rec- 
ognized by  them  I  was  introduced  to  their  shipmates  as 
"Mr.  Fletcher,  from  Portland,  who  always  looks  out  for 
us  boys."  It  seems  like  home  to  be  among  them." 

The  "seed  cast  upon  the  waters"  is  being  gather- 


COMING   OF  THE    END.  243 

ed  now  in  the  gratitude  of  those  to  whom  he  had 
been  the  instrument,  in  the  hand  of  God,  of  bring- 
ing good  in  other  days.  So  it  is  ever.  "He  that 
goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing  precious  seed, 
shall  doubtless  come  again  with  rejoicing  bringing 
his  sheaves  with  him."  Sometimes,  it  is  true,  the 
time  seems  to  be  long,  and  the  harvest  may  even  be 
left  for  others  to  gather.  Mr.  Fletcher  found 
David  Jones,  a  sailor  who  had  often  been  in  Port- 
land, and  for  whom  he  had  labored  most  earnestly 
in  the  past,  bui  he  found  him,  as  he  writes: — 

"The  same  old  David,  still  in  his  sins.  I  talked  to  him 
faithfully,  and  he  promised  to  come  to  see  me  and  have  a 
talk  with  me  in  my  room  at  the  Home,  which  he  did.  I 
spent  three  hours  with  him.  I  dealt  with  him  faithfully. 
I  read  portions  of  Scriptures  for  him,  and  got  him  upon 
his  knees  while  I  prayed  for  him.  I  wanted  him  then  and 
there  to  make  a  clean  breast  of  his  sins  to  God,  and  take 
Jesus  as  his  Captain  and  Saviour.  He  was  greatly  broken 
up,  but  he  would  not  yield  to  the  blessed  stirrings  of  the 
Spirit.  It  was  then  about  half  past  eleven  o  clock,  and  he 
had  to  leave  to  catch  the  last  boat  to  Oakland.  He  prom- 
ised me  that  he  would  read  his  Bible  and  do  better." 

This  incident  shows  the  intense  earnestness  and 
sincere  faithfulness  of  the  work  of  Mr.  Fletcher  . 
with   his  "sailor-bovs."     With   tears   in   his  eyes, 


244  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

with  tenderness  in  his  voice,  yet  with  a  faithfulness 
to  truth  that  is  worthy  of  all  praise,  he  would  set 
before  them  the  "error  of  their  ways"  and  then, 
kneeling  with  them,  put  their  case  before  God. 
His  prayers  were  trustful,  confidential  talks  with 
God.  They  two  were  acquainted.  They  were 
friends,  as  God  and  Abraham  were  friends.  They 
walked  and  talked  together  and  trusted  each  other 
with  a  perfect  trust. 

One  of  the  most  refreshing  visits  made  by  Mr. 
Fletcher  in  San  Francisco  was  with  the  family  of 
Dr.  John  Dillon,  the  son  of  Rev.  Dr.  Isaac  Dillon, 
one  of  his  intimate  friends  and  helpers  for  many 
years  in  the  city  of  Portland.  He  speaks  of  it  with 
most  intense  satisfaction,  and  the  more  especially 
as  he  found  Dr.  Dillon,  whom  he  had  known  inti- 
mately in  his  boyhood  in  Portland,  a  most  worthy 
Christian  man. 

The  weeks  of  his  stay  in  San  Francisco  passed 
very  rapidly  and  pleasantly.  He  did  not  fail  to 
improve  all  opportunities  for  good  doing,  and  es- 
pecially among  the  sailors  wherever  he  found  them. 
On  the  evening  of  the  4th  day  of  July  he  attended 
the  services  at  the  Seaman's  Institute.  He  makes 
the  following  record  concerning  the  services, 


COMING  OF  THE   END.  245 

which,  as  it  incidentally  reveals  his  own  high  sense 
of  religious  obligations,  as  well  as  indicates  his  firm 
conviction  of  the  nature  of  the  life  a  seaman's 
chaplain  should  live,  we  copy: 

"I  attended  the  night  service  at  the  Seaman's  Institute, 
as  I  wanted  to  see  how  the  Chaplain  conducts  his  work. 
There  was  quite  a  large  number  of  the  sailor  lads,  besides 
several  ladies  present.  I  thought  it  strange  to  see  Mr.  F. 
through  the  week  playing  billiards  and  smoking  and  car- 
rying on  with  the  boys,  and  then  to  see  him  don  his  sur- 
plice on  Sunday  night  and  read  prayers  to  them.  I  thought 
if  this  was  the  way  he  attempted  to  win  the  boys  to  Jesus 
he  had  greatly  mistaken  his  calling.  He  might  conduct 
in  this  way  until  doomsday  and  never  win  over  one  boy 
to  Christ." 

With  a  most  genial  disposition  Mr.  Fletcher 
could  brook  no  such  trifling  spirit  in  one  who 
sought  to  "negotiate  'twixt  God  and  man  as  God's 
ambassador,"  and  he  never  failed  in  one  way  or  an- 
other to  put  the  seal  of  his  disapprobation  upon  it. 
Besides,  he  rightly  judged  that  a  Christianity  that 
draws  no  line  of  distinction  between  the  practices 
and  pastimes  of  the  Christian  and  worldly  man  is  a 
Christianity  in  word  only,  and  not  in  deed  and  in 
truth.  No  one  is  quicker  than  the  men  that  sail 


246  WILLIAM  S.  FLETCHER. 

before  the  mast  to  detect  the  counterfeit  present- 
ment of  a  Christian  life,  and  no  one  turns  away 
from  it  with  a  deeper  disgust.  But  the  real  Chris- 
tian life  wins  and  holds  their  confidence,  and  he 
who  lives  it  commands  their  respect  and  honor. 
Thus  it  is  always  and  everywhere. 

The  time  he  had  assigned  himself  for  his  visit  to 
San  Francisco  having  expired  on  the  12th  day  of 
July,  he  took  passage  on  the  steamer  Columbia  for 
Portland.  On  his  departure  he  says: — 

"Forty-seven  years  ago  I  arrived  in  what  is  now  San  Fran- 
cisco. Then  there  was  no  city  here.  I  was  then  a  sinful, 
wicked  young  sailor.  When  I  witness  the  great  changes 
that  have  taken  place  in  the  city  since  then,  I  feel  that 
none  of  them  have  been  so  great  as  that  which  has  taken 
place  in  my  poor  heart.  Glory  be  to  God!  Then  careless 
and  wicked,  now  a  child  of  God,  full  of  faith  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  I  cannot  find  words  to  express  my  great  love 
to  my  Heavenly  Father,  to  Jesus  Christ,  my  Saviour,  and 
to  the  Holy  Ghost,  nay  Sanctifier,  for  their  great  love  to 
xne." 

Surely  Mr.  Fletcher  was  right.  No  material 
change  can  in  any  wise  equal  that  which  transpires 
in  the  soul  and  life  of  one  "born  of  a  new  celestial 
birth,"  "by  the  power  of  the  word  of  God  which 
liveth  and  abideth  forever." 


COMING   OF  THE    END.  247 

On  reaching  Portland  Mr.  Fletcher  resumed  his 
work  of  ship  visitation,  with  the  same  fidelity  and 
tenderness  that  had  always  characterized  it.  Still 
he  earnestly  sought  a  new  spiritual  endowment  for 
the  work  before  him.  He  set  apart  the  hour  be- 
tween six  and  seven  every  morning  for  a  special 
reading  of  the  Scriptures,  meditation  and  prayer 
that  he  might  be  filled  with  an  enlarged  faith  and 
increased  power  in  his  work.  As  the  autumn  came 
on  the  largest  fleet  of  merchantmen  that  had  ever 
visited  Portland  arrived,  and  it  tasked  Mr.  Fletcher 
to  the  utmost  to  meet  the  demands  upon  his  time 
and  means  in  caring  for  the  spiritual  and  temporal 
good  of  his  dear  "lads  of  the  sea."  The  ships  were 
all  visited,  and  not  one  sailor  escaped  the  attention 
and  advice  of  this  lover  of  his  kind.  On  the  last 
day  of  November,  1897,  he  writes: — 

"I  have  put  on  board  of  nineteen  ships  this  month  1273 
pieces  of  reading  matter,  200  magazines,  189  picture  cards 
with  Scripture  texts  on  them,  with  a  large  number  of 
tracts.  There  has  been  the  largest  fleet  of  ships  and  steam- 
ers in  port  this  season  that  I  have  ever  seen  here,  and  I 
look  for  at  last  150  more  of  them  before  the  season  closes." 

Farly  in  January,  1898,  Mr.  D.  W.  Potter  and 
Mr.  E.  F.  Miller,  of  Chicago,  entered  on  a  season 


248  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHER. 

of  evangelistic  work  in  Grace  Church,  in  Portland. 
Their  coming  was  hailed  with  delight  by  Mr. 
Fletcher,  and  he  entered  into  the  work  they  inau- 
gurated with  great  faith  and  fervor.  He  records 
his  impressions  of  the  work  as  follows: — 

"I  have  not  seen  such  a  revival  in  Portland  for  many 
years.  It  has  been  a  great  blessing  to  Grace  Church,  and 
will  result,  I  think,  in  fifty  accessions  to  the  church.  The 
meetings  were  made  a  great  blessing  to  myself.  The 
blessed  Holy  Spirit  gave  me  great  liberty  in  getting  a  large 
number  to  the  altar.  He  used  me  particularly  in  that  part 
of  the  work.  I  had  the  unspeakable  pleasure  of  seeing 
seven  of  my  sailor  boys  give  their  hearts  to  God.  I  had  set 
apart  about  three  weeks  before  the  commencement  of  the 
meeting  from  five  to  seven  o'clock  every  morning  for  read- 
ing and  prayer  for  the  endowment  of  power  for  my  work, 
and  I  must  say  to  the  glory  of  God  that  the  Holy  Spirit  did 
greatly  bless  me  in  my  work  during  the  meeting.  I  also 
had  a  great  deal  of  ship  visiting  to  do  during  the  time  of 
the  meeting,  and  I  trust  very  many  of  the  men  of  the  sea 
were  greatly  benefitted. 

"January  19.  I  attended  the  meeting  at  the  Third  Pres- 
byterian Church,  where  all  the  afternoon  meetings  were 
held.  While  we  were  singing  as  the  congregation  were  com- 
ing in,  to  our  great  surprise  Amanda  Smith  walked  into 
the  church.  As  soon  as  Mr.  Potter  got  his  eyes  upon  her 
he  cried  out:  "Why,  here  is  Amanda  Smith!"  I  jumped  to 
my  feet,  and  sure  enough  my  eyes  had  seen  Amanda 
Smith.  I  had  read  her  book  twice  over,  and  read  much 


COMING   OF  THE   END.  240 

about  her,  but  never  did  I  think  thai  I  should  have  the 
unspeakable  happiness  of  meeting  her  in  the  flesh.  O  how 
my  heart  was  thrilled  when  I  heard  her  sing  and  pray  and 
speak  for  the  blessed  Jesus  under  the  power  and  presence 
of  the  blessed  Holy  Spirit,  as  he  was  manifested  in  the 
words  of  her  testimony.  Praise  His  holy  name,  such  a 
meeting  was  never  witnessed  before  in  East  Portland. 
The  result  so  far  of  the  meeting  on  the  East  Side  has  been 
most  gratifying  from  the  large  numbers  that  have  been 
converted  at  the  altar. 

"February  5,  1898.  Visited  the  bark  Nithsdale.  Captain 
Steven.  I  was  glad  to  meet  with  him  and  his  first  officer. 
He  was  here  fourteen  years  ago,  as  well  as  on  his  last  voy- 
age. He  is  a  Christian  captain  and  attends  (irace  Church 
when  in  port.  I  gave  him,  and  also  his  boys  and  men,  a 
fine  lot  of  reading  to  take  to  sea  with  them.  I  have  put  on 
board  the  ships  for  the  mouth  of  January  797  papers,  150 
magazines,  120  cards,  G'2  calendars,  7  comfort-bags,  13  new 
Testaments,  and  quite  a  number  of  tracts.  It  has  been  a 
busy  month  with  me  in  my  ship  and  Bethel  work.  It  ap- 
pears to  me  the  older  I  get  the  more  I  have  to  do,  but  the 
Blessed  Lord  gives  me  strength  according  to  my  duty. 
Praise  His  name." 

Thus,  as  the  early  months  of  the  present  year 
passed  by,  Mr.  Fletcher,  in  the  ripened  fullness  of 
grace,  continued  his  loved  and  consecrated  toil. 
Confined  to  his  home  for  some  weeks  by  an  acci- 
dent, he  was  greatly  cheered  by  the  constant  atten- 
tions of  the  dear  Christian  people  whom  he  loved 


250  WILLIAM  S.   FLETCHEK. 

so  tenderly,  and  who  reciprocated  all  his  love,  and 
especially  by  a  very  fraternal  communication  from 
his  old  comrade  and  friend  in  his  Bethel  and  ship 
work  in  Portland,  Rev.  R.  S.  Stubbs.  In  his  re- 
sponse to  Mr.  Stubbs  he  says: — 

"I  have  been  in  dry  dock  for  the  last  few  weeks.  I  have 
had  a  good  opportunity  to  work  up  my  latitude  and  longi- 
tude, and  lind  out  my  bearings.  My  dear  chaplain,  I  can 
say  with  you,  by  taking  good  heed  to  my  chart  and  sailing 
orders  I  have  no  fear  of  making  shipwreck  of  faith,  for  I 
don't  intend  to  have  any  dead  reckoning  to  work  up  at 
the  end  of  life's  voyage,  for  I  want  an  'abundant  entrance' 
and  to  be  safely  moored  with  our  loved  ones  at  last.  Praise 
the  Lord." 

Thus  for  so  many  years  we  have  traced  the 
course  of  the  life  of  this  true  saint  of  God  from  its 
unpropitious  beginnings  in  his  low-roofed  Irish 
home  through  the  reckless  and  untaught  career  of 
a  man  "before  the  mast;"  through  the  struggles 
and  adventures  of  a  miner;  in  the  church,  in 
plain  and  earnest  Christian  toil,  until  we  find  him, 
as  his  years  touch  three  score  and  ten,  an  honored 
Man,  a  trusted  Friend,  a  consecrated  Christian, 
waiting  only  the  good  call  of  God  to  his  final  glori- 
fication. Not  more  fittingly  did  Paul  say  of  him- 


COMING   OF  THE   END.  251 

self,  as  he  nearecl  the  end  of  his  earthly  career,  than 
Mr.  Fletcher  can  say  as  he  nears  the  same  goal: — 

"1  have  fought  .a  good  light; 
I  have  finished  my  course; 
I  have  kept  the  faith." 


FINIS. 


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